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JON-29

TALES of the OUTLANDS

BY

GARY MARK LEE

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 Gary Mark Lee

Chapter 1.

The War.

No one knew just how the war began, some said it was an accident caused by some malfunctioning computer, a burned out circuit that overloaded another circuit that flashed a warning that lead to a finger on a button that burned the whole earth. Still others said that it was caused by a selected group saying that their God was more powerful than another's group and that lead to a gathering of believers who heard their God speaking to them to annihilate those who did not pray to their deity, and now all those chosen by that Divinity are sitting with him in some green pastured Afterlife. But wise men and women of the Before Time said it was inevitable that the war should happen for it was written that all should be destroyed before a lasting peace should cover the land.

But they were wrong.

Peace did not come and the war raged on and on, burning, ripping, devouring all that stood in its way, it was a hideous great beast that knew no fear or wisdom or mercy or ending and it roamed the world consuming everything with fire and steel and an insatiable desire to destroy. Those that started the war were long forgotten, a dim memory in some long ago past that now seemed more like a fever dream to anyone who heard the story.

Many more ages passed and still the war raged on, it reached into every corner of the world, every mountain and river, every city and village, the world became a burning factory of death and destruction, every effort of humanity was channeled to war and the fantastic weapons of war. Soon the combatant nations banded together into two sides, each thinking that they would inevitably conquer. One side relied on machines of vast intelligence surrounded by impenetrable steel hoping to overpower those that stood against them with mathematical perfection.

The other side chose creatures of the earth, beasts of land, sea and air, they were captured and genetically alter to enhance their natural instinct for killing and their bodies were given power to endure the rigors of battle. With these creatures they hoped to overcome with nature at their side. Those nations that didn't chose a side were quickly destroyed for it is the nature of humans that they see things in black and white, good and evil, right or wrong, those that live in the grey are never understood and their voices are smothered under the cry for vengeance.

Still more dark centuries passed, bio-warfare rose up and horrible diseases were unleashed that attacked the body and mind, many died screaming as they watched their flesh decay others forgot their souls and tore at those they loved in a blind fury of pain and madness, and as soon as a vaccine was perfected for an infection another would rise up to take its place. Vast landscapes were converted to places of petulance and they became known as the Poison Lands, there inhabitance were horrible creatures baring very little resemblance to humans.

The population dwindled to a handful, those few that tried to evade the holocaust soon reverted to the basest of humans, preying on each other for food, human flesh became their nectar, but even they were used to make war, and those that did not die rose up to take from those weaker so that the wastelands of the earth became the home of the Scavengers.

The Wastelands, a ruined land of broken cities and unburied dead, the hidden place of deadly creatures and vile beasts too horrible to mention, parched, baked, jagged, all traces of the Before Time gone, and scattered here and there were remnants of past civilization, forgotten places that once were thriving metropolitan areas teaming with humanity each one going about their business and never thinking that someday all they cherished would vanish.

The City itself had lost its name and now it's only inhabitance were sub-humans and mutated humanoids called Scavengers, half man half beast, these vile creatures sustained themselves on raw flesh and it didn't matter what kind, they would consume whatever they could kill, be it human or some creature of the Outland, they traveled in packs adding to their strength which was considerable, created without fear anything that crossed their path died in agony. And into this forbidden place moved a metal monster that could blot out the sun and crush all in its path.

Earthshaker.

It rose up like a mountain of steel, a huge armored beast that filled the air with smoke and the smell of massive Corbalight engines, it traveled on titanic moving treads that ground rock and steel like a miller ground wheat, anything that was left of civilization was crushed without mercy, in appearance it resembled a great iron centipede, each colossal segment linked to the one before it and undulating like some prodigious prehistoric worm. The sound it released was like the screaming of a millions dammed souls and now and then it emitted a blast that could be heard for miles and warned anything living that death was approaching.

The great machine was once the flagship of a massive land attack division made up of all types of attack and defensive weapons platforms, light and heavy destroyers, pursuers and material retrievers, personal hunters and repairers, information gatherers and probes to find and relay information back to central command, but in the many years since the beginning of the conflict one by one they were destroyed or disabled, the colossal Earthshaker called Armageddon was now the only reminder of that once great strength.

High up at the top of the metal monster was the control center, the brain of the beast, the place where the Commander sat and decided who should live and who should die.

The Commander or AA-1as his designation required slumped in his control chair as his metal leg began to trouble him.

"Where is the flesh-tec that I sent for?" his voice was hard and fast and everyone in the control room knew that if the technician didn't come soon someone would pay with their life.

AA-1 the superior officer in charge of the Armageddon was a seasoned warrior, he had fought at the battle of Long-river and was there when the army of the Central-zone met their end, he lost his leg in the conflict but he had his revenge when he personally executed a thousand of the enemy using only his replacement appendage, his face was scarred and there was a large metal plate covering the right side of his hairless skull, he also had his inner jaw replaced and covered in Plasti-flesh but rather than the ivory colored teeth that usually were added to make a more pleasing image he had them replaced with steel projections, now when he opened his mouth it made him look like a flesh-grinder rather than human.

The Commander continued to rub his upper thigh, the place where his bionic leg was attached to his flesh, ordinarily a new replacement appendage would be genetically grown for him and he would be good as new but over the years his DNA had grown weak and a simple replacement was no longer an option.

"Where is the flesh-tec? He shouted.

Everyone waited for someone to speak up, but all of them also knew that if the Commander wasn't satisfied with the answer there would be trouble, but at last the personal officer rose from his chair.

"The technician is on the way AA one" he said with a slight waver in his voice.

The one legged man looked at him with cold eyes, "when?" he asked dryly.

The personal officer was about to respond when the heavy door to the Commander center opened and in raced a flesh-tec breathing hard, he moved quickly across the hard floor, his hand scanner held tight in a sweaty fist and stood at attention before the Commander with his head down.

"I apologize for the wait-time, it won't happen again".

There was a long pause as the Commander looked him over, then he spoke with a low voice saying only two words.

"My leg".

Quickly the nervous technician moved to the Commander's left leg and began to look it over, after fiddling with some control buttons he took his hand scanner and ran it up and down the surface of the fabricated limb and when it had done its work he look at the reading and spoke, "your support leg needs to be taken to repair, there I can run a dieo and see what the snafu is".

The Commander thought this over for a moment, "very well, but have it back by Oh-Nine hun, or you'll spend the rest of your life in waste removal".

The Technician twisted the leg to the right and then the left and with a loud "snap" and a small shower of sparks the mechanical appendage was removed from its attachments, the flesh-tec stood tall and saluted with his free hand, "Oh-Nine hun, understood AA one", then he turned and quickly left the room.

The Commander adjusted himself in his hard seat but with his leg missing he couldn't find a comfortable position and he was about to yell at somebody when the scan-tec officer spoke. "Sir, I have a combatant reading at nine-six, four, five, heavy Komodo on a heading straight for us".

"All stop!" the Commander said and the huge machine ground to a halt. "Adjust main guns to nine-six, four, five and make ready to fire on my orders".

Outside the powerful Fazic projectors moved into position with a rusty grinding sound, there were six of the huge guns each one possessing enough energy to shatter thick Itarian steel.

The Commander waited and enjoyed the feeling of power that swept over him, like all military men he relished the thought of destroying his enemies.

"FIRE!" he shouted.

And the control room reverberated to the sound of death.

The sky filled with fire and smoke as beams of energy ripped through the air, and when the power blasts found their mark the air shattered.

The targets were a company of Dragon-warriors or Outriders; they were called that because of the great creatures that they use for travel and defense, Komodo beasts, huge six legged animals with armor plated skin and a wide head supporting two long horns, for all their size they could move quick and were well trained to carry their riders into battle and show no fear. Guiding these beasts was a rider and behind them in a small armored section was the weapons controller with a twin-barreled blaster, these were small pig-like creatures called Coshinoids that were bred for task-work, they were loyal to their units and never ran from a battle, they were also clever with their hands and made excellent repairers, their only flaw was their insatiable appetites, they would eat whenever they found food and it didn't matter if that nourishment was a ration pack or some vermin of the land.

The command rider was human, although genetically engineered for maximum strength and durability; they controlled the beasts direction and added their front weapon to the attack, this armament was small in comparison to the massive guns of the Earthshaker but it was almost as deadly, it relied on a molecular disrupter at its core to dissolve the cohesive bonds between atoms and disintegrate whatever it was targeted at.

The Armageddon's control room rocked to the incoming weapons fire of the enemy.

"What's the snafu with your tracking, I thought we had a lock?" the Commander shouted.

"Neg sir, they're blocking our sensors with image generators".

Glancing at his control screen the superior officers could see targeting blips appear then disappear so he understood that any weapons hits would be lucky ones, "prepare the Runners!". He said.

The orders of the superior officer were quickly relayed to the hanger bay near ground level.

The hanger bay was huge and filled with all manner of things, pursuit tanks in need of repair, graphite bombs, inter-proton generators and hundreds of battle tested soldiers ready to do their duty. And some of the strangest of these were the Runners, they were human but with super-massive leg muscles that gave them fantastic speed in covering land, the upper portion of their bodies were thin and from the look in their eyes it was easy to see that they had very limited intelligence. They wore tight suits with a large power pack strapped to their backs and on their feet they wore spiked shoes to better grip the ground.

A Master weapons-tech check the explosive back packs then spoke into his com-link.

"Runners one through twelve ready for deployment" he said.

"Deploy runners" was the reply from the control room.

Quickly the weapons-tech opened the hatch to the outside then turned to the Runners, "target!" he said pointing to the oncoming Komodo beasts.

"Explode now!" the runners said in unison then sprinted from the hanger bay.

The Runners reached maximum speed in a matter of seconds, their powerful legs were almost a blur as they headed for their chosen targets, their sensors emitted a "beeping" sound as they neared their objective and they didn't flinch even as blasts of energy struck the ground around them and killed several of their kind, dodging and whirling through the maelstrom of steel and ruins they continued onward, as they grew closer to their enemy more of them died but there were enough left to find their mark.

On the front of their uniforms was a large round button like device, when it came in contact with a solid object it sent a signal to the pack-back and Runner and enemy died in a shattering explosion.

Inside the control room the weapons technician checked his readings "three heavy Komodo eliminated".

"Very good" the Commandant smiled as he rubbed the stump of his leg. "But we don't have victory".

"AA one, four additional targets approaching from the west bearing two, two, fire, appear to be heavy enforcers", reported one of the scanner-readers.

The Commander knew that heavy enforcers could easily outflank him but he wasn't ready to turn tail and run just yet, "continue attack and alert tank bay to deploy Crawler team".

The tank bay was almost at large as the hanger section but this division was filled with a company of highly maneuverable and deadly Mini-tanks, these were armored one person attack vehicles that carried the latest weaponry and a bio-mechanical command controller, it was technically called the multi-task, over view, tactical, hyper-active, error-null, repair unit or MOTHER for short. These mechanisms were used extensively throughout the many interfaces of the great machine, they could be programs for a variety of different uses, medical, information gathering, repair, supply and disbursement, their intelligence was equal and sometime superior to that of a human. Now each attack machine was equipped with an M.O.T.H.E.R main controller along with two smaller but equally useful bio-brains, Weapons and Power.

Each different type Mini-tank was useful in a battle situation and together they made up a powerful attack force. Five of the Mini-tanks stood before giant round hatchways in the great war-machine, technicians activate the machines and the air is filled with a high whining sound.

Inside one of the tanks with the markings J.O.N sat the driver, a young man in his early twenties but his handsome face bore many scars, on his thick neck are markings, J.O.N with the number 28 below it, this signified his unit and designation. He sat strapped in his command chair wearing a battle resistant suit and an info-helmet on his head, from his abdomen ran an umbilical cord as thick as a man's wrist, this hose relays information about his body functions and supplies him with needed nutrients and other stimulants to keep in in top physical form.

His designation is Jon-28 because he has been killed and brought back to life 28 times.

As of this moment his eyes are closed and his face is motionless, then the control panel in front of him lights up and his eyes open.

Over the voice relay comes a calm soothing female voice, it is Mother, "Jon twenty eight time to wake up, engage enemy, destroy enemy".

Jon-28 grabs the steering controls and begins to tap touch panels on several of the LED screens surrounding him, the panels light up.

"Yes Mother" the young man says quietly, "activating systems now".

Another mechanical voice is heard in the room, it is deep and resonating, it is Weapons, "weapons are at maximum charge and ready for action".

Next comes a softer but strong voice, it is Power, "power is fully charged".

With everything in readiness Mother talks to her child, "Jon twenty eight, seek and destroy".

"Yes Mother" Jon replies, "seek and destroy".

The five heavy hatches opens, wide ramps extend to the ground and the clawer team moves out, with explosions all around them they maneuver through the broken city and plow through fallen rubble and they search for the enemy.

Inside his armored Mother Jon-28 sits confidently and checks his sensors then speaks into his com-link to the other members of his team, "I am on point, assault formation twelve, activate, vector one four, multiple outriders detected".

A return voice is heard over the com, "this is Jac fourteen, AA eight and RIC twelve on flank".

"This is AA eight, affirm on flank".

"RIC twelve eight reporting on flank".

Jon-28 again checks his readings, "mac twenty eight, rear guard".

"Mac twenty eight here, rear guard check".

Jon-28 is satisfied that all is ready, "weapons, activate".

Weapons made a quick report, "all weapons charged and ready".

With all the readings in the green Jon-28 leans back in his command chair as Mother speaks to him, "seek and destroy Jon twenty eight".

"Yes Mother".

Jon holds his command controls tightly in his strong hands and checks to make sure his target in in range, it is and he fires.

The Mini-tank rocks form the force of the weapons fire and in a matter of seconds one of the Outriders is consumed in a horrific impact.

But the Komodo riders keep coming, they return fire with their weapons and Jon's vehicle is hit hard but the thick armored plating holds and there is only minor damage.

"Armaments are at eighty percent", Weapons reported.

"Energy is at eighty seven percent and holding" Power commented.

"Affirm" Jon replied as he once more singled out a target.

"Seek and destroy" Mother said.

"Yes Mother, I will seek and destroy".

The titanic Earthshaker continued to receive enemy hits on its metal hide, but although wounded it didn't retreat.

There was smoke in the command center but not enough to shake the confidence of the Commander, "continue attack" he shouted.

And although several of the technicians were wounded they knew that if they faltered in their work they would die in agony at the hands of their leader so they ignored the pain and stayed at their posts.

The Commander was angry that he only had one leg and couldn't stand but he still barked out orders and made sure that they were obeyed, "signal Crawler team, engage Outriders bearing mark seven three heading mark nine!"

"Clawer team notified AA one, targets acquired."

Then came a report that the senior officer didn't like, "sir, I have fast movers on my screen, they appear to be shrikes at bearing seven five, fifteen hundred meters and dropping".

In the sky above the huge machine a formation of five flying cyborgs began moving downward, these men and women had hugely developed torsos and arm muscles, enough so that they could flap the lightweight metal wings that were attached to them, they were known as Shrikes, flying mutants that were bio-manufactured to make the sky their home. Each one was equipped with a discharge weapons and grounding bombs, now one by one they peeled off from their formation and dived on the mountain of steel. The ground rushed up fast as the Shrikes fell earthward, then at the last moment they released their payload and the Armageddon was hit hard.

Inside the control room AA-1 felt the full impact of the attack as more smoke filled the chamber.

"Continue attack" the Commander called out, "fire all weapons!"

The Mini-tanks continue to advance, they rolled through the ruined city streets ignoring they destruction they were causing, then as the crawler team rounded a corner they were hit by enemy fire.

Mac-8 takes a direct hit and goes up in flames.

AA-8 is crushed as a building collapse from a near miss but the remaining Outriders press forward.

Inside his tank Jon-28 isn't affected, he controls his armored vehicle with precision and incredible skill, and he should for he was trained from birth to be the ultimate weapons controller and even if he had been killed twenty eight times he continued on the path he was bred for.

A new blip appears on the view screen, "New target" Jon said, "bearing seven one nine, targets acquiring".

Weapons was quick to respond, "shrikes at nine o'clock high, range two nine six".

Jon quickly punches several touchscreen and a new view lights up, it shows overhead and the flying enemy falling from the sky.

"All units deploy sky-fire" he says into his com-link.

A small but powerful multi-barreled weapon emerged from a hatch on the Mini-tanks upper deck, it rotates skyward directly at the oncoming human birds, when they are in range the gun activates and releases a cloud of hardened projectiles in the air. The Shrikes try to evade the onslaught but one by one they are brought down by the skill of Jon and his unit. The flying warriors fall in flames and crash into the baked earth, one of the mutant human's crashes into Jac-14 Mini-tank blowing it to pieces and killing the driver, the other battle-tanks keep firing and one by one the flying warriors are destroyed soon the sky is clear of danger.

Jon-28 checks his screen to make sure there is no longer a threat.

"Shrikes eliminated, switching to primary targets, units report".

Quickly the other members of the unit check in.

"RIC twelve reporting damaged but serviceable, Jac fourteen is hit".

Jon-28 tapes on his screen and looks at the display once more, he can see the huge losses to his unit but it doesn't seem to faze him in the least.

"Jac twenty four is destroyed, RIC fourteen is sole remaining unit, deploy and engage enemy"

"This is RIC fourteen, affirm".

Jon continues the fight and checks his status.

"Weapons report?"

Weapons reports quickly, "weapons are not damaged".

"Power report?"

"Power is a seventy percent".

The soothing voice of Mother speaks to her child, "good boy".

This brings a smile to the face of Jon.

The Mini-tank now heads for the enemy Outriders, the huge armored scaled reptiles move stealthily towards the giant war-machine, as they do their riders fire weapons and yell encouragement to their fellow combatants.

RIC-14 passes alleyway and an Outriders emerges from its hiding place behind a rusty hulk, its forward cannon blasts and the RIC unit sustains a direct hit, there is no time for the driver to escape and he and his armored vehicle are destroyed in a thunderous explosion.

Meanwhile the huge war-machine is hit by two gigantic bursts of weapons fire, and the giant mountain of moving steel is engulfed in a maelstrom of flame and smoke, the main control room is rapidly filling with foul vapors but the automatic fire-suppression mechanism put out the fire with chemical spray.

"Track the trajectory of the last incoming and return fire" the Commander shouted as he covered his mouth trying to stop the mist that was now surrounding him.

"Affirm" called out one of the technicians.

The Commander quickly surveyed the damage around him and to his battleship; he knew that another direct hit could cause permanent impairment or even total destruction.

"Initiate damage control on all levels, increase air filtration and move to waypoint H-seven, NOW!"

Slowly the Armageddon begins to move, a steel mountain once more come to life, as it turns it is hit by several more energy beams but it manages to survive, now it lumbers slowly over the broken terrain like some gigantic wounded animal and retreats from the battle field leaving its outlaying forces behind.

Jon-28 is unaware of Central-control leaving but even if he did it wouldn't have altered his orders to seek and destroy, he sits calmly and continues to fire at his enemy, his movements are calculated and no energy is wasted, his hands move like lighting never missing a target and instantly calculating his next move far in advance. As he does Mother receives a steady stream of information on her child's wellbeing, his heart rate, core temperature, blood pressure and a thousand other minute details are given to her and she in turn gives him just the right amount of stimulates or suppressants so that his action are the highest they can be.

"Jon twenty eight, your actions are superior" the mechanical voice said, "I am pleased".

"Affirm" Jon replied, "I will seek and destroy the enemy, I will make you proud".

And true to his word his Mini-tank targets and destroys three of the oncoming Outriders, the first two are hit head on and die instantly, the third is caught under a falling wall that Jon's weapons had weakened, technically it wasn't a clean kill but destroying an enemy by whatever means was acceptable in the rules of war.

Now there is only one Outlander left, the rider hides behind a large broken wall of rock and steel and her Komodo beast comes to a halt and we can see that the enemy is a woman.

She is tall and well-built and her form fitting armor is covered in dirt and grime, on her head she wears a helmet set with two short horns a symbol of the Komodo riders, on her ankles are tow seven inch long spurs that she uses to guide her beast, but despite all that one could call her attractive, she seems in her early twenties but it would be hard to tell for it was well known that Outriders age slowly and some can still fight well into old age.

The young girl who designation is KT-7 turns in her worn saddle to the small pig-like tail-gunner behind her.

"Entrago morali Tanagra tic-tarmeco" she spoke in the language of her tribe but in the All-speak communication that was most common in her time it translated to (deploy all fire into that tank-clawer when I signal).

"Artro! (Affirm)" said the little creature and then he checked his twin blaster to make sure it was on full power.

KT-7 reached down and strokes the thick neck flap on the huge beast under her, "Neco-traas, Jockarno Te-youngra-morga" (we will crack that wheel jockey and then I will take you home).

The thick hided creature let out a long roar and then raced forward at the command of its rider.

It was met by the well-aimed fire from Jon-28's machine, but the thick hide of the beast and its speed and maneuverability made a direct hit very hard and in return Jon's tank was being damaged.

"Remain calm" Mother said as she began pumping a higher level of nerve suppressants into the abdominal tube to her child, "Seek and destroy".

"Affirm" replied Jon and he continued to control his machine and fire all his weaponry.

"Energy is at sixty present and dropping", Power reported, "We have seven point eight more encounter markers before we have to withdraw".

Weapons report was not far behind, "main armament is online but damaged to guidance".

"Affirm".

But even with targeting damage Jon was still finding his mark, one blast struck very near the Komodo beast and several pieces of shrapnel cut deep into its thick hide and it roars in pain.

"Targo me-tango Jocura-jumpic!" (Die you metal headed cog jumper!) The wounded rider shouted as she fired again and again at the metal intruder.

But behind her the tail-gunner was not so lucky, a stray fragment of metal found its way between his armor and penetrated into its spinal cord killing in instantly, his blaster goes silent.

Smoke begins to fill the cramped control room of the Mini-tank then another blast was felt and a jagged piece of the interior is blow loose and pierces the left thigh of Jon-28, Jon's leg is suddenly on fire with pain.

"Do not concern Jon twenty eight, your vital signs are strong" Mother's voice was calm and reassuring, "you will not terminate".

Fluids pump down the umbilical cord and into the body of the young man, slowly the bleeding stops and the pain is lessoned, mechanical probes with claws extend for the inner wall of the control room and remove the burning piece of metal from Jon's leg. Then there is a flash of light as the wound is cauterized, a Plasti-flesh covering is put into place and sealed tight, the mechanical arms retracted.

Mother once more speaks, "temporary repairs completed, functionality is at eighty present, good boy".

With the pain gone and his wound sealed Jon once more goes on the attack, he clears his mind and takes careful aim at the last Outrider.

He fires.

The Outriders beast is hit hard on it armored head, it roars in pain then falls to the ground and KT-7 is thrown through the air to land hard on her back, but remarkably she raises to her feet and pulls a small handgun from a holster at her side she continues to fire at the metal monster that is bearing down on her.

"Vitrogo N Death" (Victory or death!) she screams, but her weapon is far too small to do any real damage, then she sees her dead Komodo and runs to it, she manages to turn the main weapon to towards the Mini-tank and presses the trigger.

There is a blast of energy and Jon tank sustain a direct hit, but not before it fires once more at the fallen Komodo, KT-7 manages to jump clear as her beast and all of its supplies is hit again, this ignites the ammunition and several more blasts destroys what is left of her mount. The young warrior girl lifts her shelf up and smiles as her well-aimed shot finds its mark, then she collapses and darkness takes her.

The last blast from the Outrider slams into the side of Jon's vehicle and rips into its armored hull, the heavy crawlers spins wildly and then crashes into a concrete and steel wall, the force is strong enough to stop the forward motion of the speeding machine and it comes to a grinding halt.

Inside the control room warning lights begin to flash along with thick smoke and flame, immediately more fire retardant mist sprays out.

Jon sits unconscious in his control sit, if it wasn't for his restraining straps he would have been tossed around the metal chamber like a toy, his once handsome face is torn and bloody, his left arm is missing and there is a deep hole in his side.

"Damage to all systems" reports Power, "energy is draining, not sufficiently for movement".

"Weapons are offline".

"Affirm" Mother said, "Channel all remaining power into life support for Jon twenty eight he must not terminate".

But there was some differences opinion in the metal minds of the different systems.

"If we use up all reaming power for life support we may not be able to make repairs and be defeated" Power said, "control drivers can be replaced".

"I concur" Weapons relied, "we are a mark one combat-tanker, we should use all reaming power to return to command central".

"Neg" Mother answered, "life support for Jon twenty eight will be our main function all other concerns will be secondary".

There was a long silence in the control room then the ventilators began to clear the air and it was clear that the orders of Mother would be obeyed.

Some distance from the fallen Mini-tank the great war-machine rolled across the landscape, its hull showed a great deal of damage and one of her Corbalight engines was smoking badly, but the superstructure seemed to be intact and with some time and energy it could be repaired and fight another day.

The air in the control room began to clear as a technician gave a report to the Commander.

"Multiple hits to fire control, medium damage to blast shielding and tracking systems".

This made the Commander less angry then before for he knew with time and effort he would be able to destroy the enemy once again, "very well, continue on course to a safe area and make repairs".

"Affirm" said the tec.

"Outrider enemy has been eliminated, all clawer units are terminated", came another report.

"Affirm" said AA-1, "make heading forty six nine to section nine five, disengage active tracking, deploy smoke".

Then one more technician reported, "We had a deep penetration that set off the Pentagmite magazines but the blast panels held and damage is contained".

The Commander didn't reply for his missing leg was hurting him and everyone knew not to tax him further with information.

Outside the huge machine continued away from the city, behind it left more ruins and dead but that was its purpose and the dream of war.

Amid the broken city's crumbling ruins Jon's Mini-tank laid half buried under several tons of rock and steel, beside it is another machine, but this one is not a mechanism of war but one for building, it had a large crane and two mechanical arms fitted with large claws, it was built long ago in the Before time when there was some chance of peace and before that hope vanished and all thoughts turned to destruction and death. But it still had most of its parts and perhaps someday it might be made to work once more?

Inside all effort to save the life of Jon-28 have failed, his wounds were too deep and all life functions have terminated, several of the readout screen showed that his vital organs had shut down and all brain wave activity had ended, he was dead.

Power was the first to report on the condition of the driver, "control drivers life force has ended, replacement should be acquired".

This was backed up by Weapons, "we must regain our ability to defend ourselves, driver unit is nonfunctional we should conserve energy and return to command central".

But Mother had heard all this before, after all Jon-28 had been killed many times in the past and brought back to life, but would it work with so much damage to his body structure?

"We will attempt reanimation of Jon twenty eight" Mother ordered.

"Our energy is only at twenty percent, it is not enough for reanimation" Power knew that any drain on their energy cells might prove fatal to all systems.

But Mother was determined to have her child back, "repeat, reanimation will be attempted on Jon twenty eight, I must have him back!"

Ordinarily the M.O.T.H.E.R control system would not have used up her remaining power in an attempt to bring back a control driver, they would simply discard the human and use the remaining power to return to base and there the Bio-mind would be given a new replacement human to train. But there was something different about this controller, something that the programmers did not foresee, after so many cycles of combat and training this unit had developed a close bond with her "child" something that went beyond her simulated human characteristics, something not found in circuits and wiring.

Love.

Now there are many who would argue that a machine can't love, after all they are simply a mass of wiring and circuitry but along with all the hardware Mother was composed of a biogenetic substance that was grown from human tissue and because of that some might say that having the ability to love was well within the realm of reality. So following her "emotions" Mother began the process of restoring life to her child.

The command chair that the lifeless body of Jon twenty eight occupied was leveled out into a flat surface and the restraining straps that held him were retracted back into the chair, then from small storage lockers inside the control room tiny but highly skilled service robots emerged and began their delicate work. First they removed the Jon's torn uniform and helmet, and then they detached any bits of metal from the cold flesh of the human and other foreign material that filled the wounds. The thick umbilical cord that ran to Jon's abdomen still remained for that was the central way that information was transferred to Mother and in turn she would supply her child with whatever he needed to live once more.

When that was done a scanning device moved out from the wall and moved slowly up and down the corpse.

"Internal damage to heart and liver" the mechanical voice of the scanner reported, "four broken ribs, head and facial wounds and the left arm has been severed at the elbow".

"Affirm" Mother said, "Commence repairs".

Immediately the Service-bots began their work, they entered the body through the wounds and with Jon's genetic format as a guide they replaced damaged cells with new ones, heart, liver, eyes, all were implanted, then they inserted three steel ribs where the broken ones were and a new jaw and portions of the skull and covered the whole in biosynthetic flesh. But replacing the missing limb would be a problem.

"Insufficient genetic material for replacement of left appendage", the Med-scanner reported, "recommend temporary mechanical survival arm three one, one".

"Affirm" Mother answered, "Temporary replacement is acceptable".

The Service-bots worked fast for passing time would only make the chances of reanimation far more difficult; they attached a standard survival arm onto the humans left elbow and connected it with a neural possessor to Jon's brain. The arm was equipped with all the latest technology, tactile sensors at the fingertips that were far superior to organic ones; it also had enemy detection, water and food analysis, and an Itarian steel knife for self-defense. The Service-bots worked hard but at last all was repaired and the small machines returned to their storage containers.

"Energy is now at twenty percent" Power reported, "any attempt at reanimation will prove useless".

But Mother would not be detoured, "driver repair sequence completed, personality core stable, opening stasis loop, initiate reanimation".

Long cable begin to emerge from the command chair an attach themselves to different parts of Jon's lifeless body, two at the skull and several more at the torso and limbs, these would carry the electrical bio-plasma charge that would activate the synthetic replacement parts and hopefully bring life once more.

The lights inside the control chamber dimmed and a low hum began to fill the air, then a flash of light and the body of Jon-28 begins to jerk, it spasms for a moment or two then lays motionless once more.

"Energy is down another five percent; recommend no further effort to reanimate".

Ignoring the recommendations of Power Mother continues in her determination, "insert glycogenic compound, and boost power level to three".

"Boosting power level to three is dangerous" Weapons called out, "energy at that level can kill a human". But Weapons did not fully understand that Jon was already dead and could no longer be hurt by any level of weapons fire.

Fluids ran down the umbilical cord and into Jon's body then when Mother was satisfied with the results she spoke once more, "commence energy influx at lever three".

Again the lights in the chamber dimed and then another bolt of energy surged through the dead human, the body convulsed once, twice, three times then lay still once more, there was a moment then nothing happened then Jon gasped in a lungful of air.

He was alive once more.

Slowly he opened his eyes and looked around his metal home.

"Mother?" he said weakly.

The command chair slowly moved back into its upright position and Jon was able to take in his surrounding, "Mother, what occurred?"

"Your metabolism was terminated and you were put into personality stasis, repair sequences were initiated and completed, you have been reanimated, you are now capable of adequate function and command drive back to moving base of operations, your new designation will be Jon twenty nine."

"Understood Mother" Jon said coolly.

A small arm-device moved out of the chair and towards Jon's neck, a light beam shot out and burned away the insignia that marked the human designation, with a sizzle of burning flesh the number 29 was removed and replaced by 29, finally a healing spray was administered and the mechanism retreated back where it came from.

Being killed and brought back to life might seem incredible to many but Jon had undergone this twenty eight times before starting at a very early age, and with each termination his designation had risen accordingly so adding one more number to an already impressive list did not seem out of the ordinary to him.

"Is communication with main unit H.Q. possible?" he asked.

"There is a communications malfunction and repairs at this time are not possible, our orientation is non-operable for communication and locomotion".

"Weapons?" he asked.

Quickly Weapons responds, "Damage to weapons server, incapable of repairs".

"Power, report?"

"Power is failing, only ten percent capacity".

Jon begins to check the readouts on his screens it was then that he notices the metal replacement arm, "there was no chance of genetic replacement of original part?"

"Neg" Mother said, "Factory original part beyond repair replacement will be sufficient until return to main unit and superior medical attention".

"Affirm" Jon replied, "time to arrival of recovery units?"

"Recovery not possible, main unit no longer in communication".

"Understood, we will follow our last command and seek and destroy the enemy!"

"Default option no longer possible" Mother replied, "insufficient resources".

Jon-29 thought this over for a moment or two, "conclusion?" he asked coldly.

"We are expended".

Again there was a pause from Jon, "understood, we are expended, options?"

Mother took a bit longer to respond than normal, "None possible, we cannot repair to seek and destroy levels, driver unit has the option to terminate".

Terminating was the last resort of every command driver, they had been trained to never be taken captive because the enemy would place them into a pain amplifier and memory extractor and have access to their battle strategies and defense tactics. Each Mini-tank was equipped with a detonator that would set off a seven point nine destructive explosion that would disintegrate the machine and everything within a half-mil radius.

Jon understood his orders and was prepared to do his duty, "I concur with the option for termination, falling into enemy hands is un-acceptable, driver unit authorizes termination".

"As the Mother system I concur with Jon twenty eight we will terminate, weapons?"

"Weapons concur with this solution".

"Power report is termination acceptable?" Mother said.

"Power concurs with option to terminate".

Hearing that all systems were in agreement Jon began adjusting his control settings to destroy himself and his machine, "Understood, setting termination in standard time mod".

In a moment or two a flashing red light appeared on his central screen, it began at ten and slowly counted down.

Mother read off the numbers, "ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, goodbye Jon twenty nine, you were a good boy".

"Goodbye Mother" Jon said quietly then waited for the blast.

But nothing happened.

Jon looked at his screen, "is this termination?"

"Neg" Mother said, "termination charge malfunction, diagnostics malfunction, we are unable to terminate".

There is no reaction from Jon and he just stares at his main-screen, "alternatives?"

"Unknown" Mother replied, "I have suffered core damage, options unavailable".

"Understood" Jon continued to stare at his screen.

Mother waited for a time and watched her child, then after a while she spoke, "you need rest".

"I am not fatigued" Jon replied.

"I monitor your systems" the mechanical caretaker said, "correct procedures will be followed, rest".

A blue fluid began to run through the umbilical cord and into weary Jon's body, slowly he closed his eyes and immediately he was fast asleep.

But as he was falling asleep someone else was just waking up.

KT-7 wasn't dead; she had undergone blood loss and some superficial damage to her right arm and left leg but all her internal organs still functioned and she would live to fight another day.

They young warrior opened her eyes and slowly sat up, her body felt like she had just fought off an attack by a rock crusher but with some effort she managed to rise to her feet. She looked down to see that her body was covered in Juice-suckers, rather large roach like insects that feed on liquid and bone marrow, with enough time they could drain her of all fluids.

"Get off me you little dregs!" She shouted for although the girl was a strong and tested soldier she still had a deep loathing for creepy clawers of all kind. KT ran her hands swiftly over her arms, legs and torso and soon the vile vermin were removed.

With the tiny creatures gone she removed her helmet and looked around her for any sign of danger and she quickly realized that luck was still on her side. No Scavengers had found her and

She would not end up in the belly of the mutants, but that is where her luck ended for her Komodo was dead and all her supplies destroyed, and without them she had little hope of making her way back to her people.

"Remember your training" she said, there was no one there of course but KT often talked to herself on long scouting missions, "the first thing is to take stock of what you have".

And she started to do just that, she had her survival knife, med-kit, simulants, direction calculator, small canteen and cranial info-connector, then she tried her com attached to her wrist.

"KT seven to main force, KT seven to main force, connect!" but there was no response from her unit, they were either dead or too far away, next she tried her directional device but the power blast from the clawer had wiped all data from its core, without it she wouldn't be able to find her home.

The young girl looked up at the sky, night was falling and that would mean more danger.

"Hide" she said.

But before that she had a task to do, she would bury her tail-gunner and cover his small grave with rocks, it was the least she could do for her companion, when it was done darkness surrounded her, but she had one more thing to do, she stood looking down at the small pile of rocks.

"You were a good gunner, you killed many of our enemies, and you died with honor".

And with those last words she stood tall and made a salute to her fallen comrade, and then she put her helmet back on and walked to a mass of stone and steel, crawled inside a small opening and vanished from site.

Jon was dreaming, it wasn't something he did often for the rest medications that were given to him blocked out that response from his system but for some reason his mind was filled with image of his past. He was a young child once more, his designation was JON-5 for he was destined to be a command driver in the J.O.N. units, the first four designations he didn't remember but if he had he would have seen how he was created.

Genetic material was inserted into an Alfa-one unit, this would keep the embryo safe and give it advanced nurturance and growth stimulators to ensure a fast development and the maximum in strength and endurance. If those standards are not met the embryo is terminated and the useful cells are harvested and the process begins over and the new designation is added, so Jon became two, then three, and then four, at that time he was taken out of development and his training started, at that stage he could walk and talk and therefore placed inside a Mother unit, she would oversee the next levels of training and reward or punish accordingly.

In his dream he heard his Mother speak.

"Jon five you must concentrate on your target and destroy it!"

Jon's tiny hands gripped the controls and guided the targeting dot onto the enemy on his view screen.

"When the target locked fire weapons" Mother said.

But Jon was slow in locking the enemy and he missed, when that happened he was given a shock by Mother.

"Ouch!" the little boy cried, "that hurt Mother".

"Of course it did Jon five, now concentrate on your target and you will be rewarded".

Jon tried once more and this time he succeeded, and therefore rewarded, Mother sent a small dose of pleasure stimulates through his umbilical cord and into his tiny body, the reaction was fast.

"That feels good Mother" Jon said smiling.

This pleased the mechanical caretaker, "yes, now do as Mother tells you to do and you will be a good boy".

Now the images flashed in Jon's mind in a stream of memory.

He was Jon six, seven, eight, nine, ten, the Earthshaker continued the war and it took damaged that sometimes ended the life of the young boy, at other times the cause of termination was the boys own fault, a miscalculation in trainer driving, to slow in combat encounter training, power overload because he did not pay attention to energy built ups, on and on it went, death and life, life and death, but always he came back.

Then when he was Jon thirteen he was sent into combat.

This was what he had trained all his life for and he didn't disappoint, he skill at driving and weapons targeting made him one of the deadliest Jon units ever, his mind was like a computer, focused and clear, he could target and destroy several enemies at the same time both forward and rear, he could choose just the right ammunitions for a quick kill and he left nothing alive. But he paid a price, his designations rose quickly.

Jon fourteen, fifteen, sixteen and so on, up and up, more killing, more destruction, more victories, it was his life and dead.

But in times of rest his mind turned to other things, things that were not connected to war, things not made of steel, things that were soft and warm.

Females.

"Mother" he heard his mind say, "Why are there two kinds of command drivers?"

This may sound strange to some of you for it would have been an easy matter to remove all traces of male and female differences in the growth period and that had been tried but after much evaluation they found that eliminating such things didn't enhance destructive capability rather it declined them. Sex proved to be a valuable commodity in training for stimulation of female and male organs brought a quick responds.

"Do not concern yourself with that" Mother said, "you must focus on the enemy and how to defeat them".

But Jon's mind filled with images of soft flesh and not war.

With the rising of the sun the creatures of the night began to look for a hiding place once more.

A large Drool-rat moved fast across the broken concrete and steel beams that covered part of Jon's Mini-tank, like others of its kind it was cunning and spent most of its time looking for food and avoiding predators. It had a hairy body with overlapping bands of bonelike plating on its back to add in its defense and its dripping mouth was filled with razor sharp teeth. It darted over a large piece of rubble then scampered inside the hole on the side of the armored vehicle.

Inside it was dark, the perfect place for the rodent, it sniffed the air then skittered for the only sores of food in the chamber, Jon-29. It decided that the human's right index finger would prove suitable and it bit hard into the soft flesh.

Jon woke with a start and his hand closed like a trap, the small creature tried to bit his captor but Jon held on and examined the thing in his hand.

"Mother" he said.

And immediately the lights in the control room lite up and a mechanical voice is heard, "you require assistance Jon twenty nine?"

Jon held up the rat so that the internal scanners could make an analysis. "info-scan".

The vile creature is surrounded by the scanner projectors and they begin their work.

There were no rats inside the Armageddon due to the fact that they had small pet removal robots to take care of that problem and a J.O.N unit is sealed from within.

Mother took a moment or two to check her information circuits, they were damaged but she was still able to call up the proper response, "it is a rattus rattus superior, also known as a Drool-rat, a large omnivorous Scavenger rodent".

Jon turns the creature around in his hand, "poisonous?"

"non-venomous" Mother replied, "commonly carries of several varieties of disease causing microbes, several of which were tactically deployed early in the opening stages of the first Millennial war. You have received DNA modifications against all known varieties of these pathogens".

Jon looks into the face of the angry rodent, "characteristics?"

There is a pause from Mother as she selects the right wording, and then she finds it.

"Edible".

Jon units don't carry standard food supplies; all nutrients are from Mother but that supply must be conserved so the young man takes a few moments to consider his alternatives then bit the head off the rat, chewed slowly then swallows.

"The taste is sub-standard" Jon said.

It was true that Jon didn't take food my mouth very offended but in order to keep his internal organs functioning at a high level he was given food cubes and liquids from time to time.

Mother had no need for nourishment and the word "taste" held not meaning to her at all but she was programed to care for her child and she did just that.

"Drool-rat has sufficient nutrition to maintain basic life functions, finish your meal".

Jon quickly finished the rest of the rat.

When he did Power made a report, "energy is diminishing, levels at only ten percent, all unnecessary systems are shut down".

"Affirm" Jon said wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, "status of weapons?"

Weapons voice is weak and it was clear that his capability was quickly eroding, "weapons? Weapons are......level one and...weapons are at level one...one...one?"

Weapons at this time was not a prime concern so energy was only maintained at minimum so that its memory core would not be eliminated.

Mother checked the life functions on Jon-29 once again, "you need rest" she said.

Although he didn't want to sleep he knew that Mother would only sedated him again so he complied with her demands, "Understood" he said softly, "will you tell me a story?" he asked.

"Power should be conserved for necessary functions" Mother responded.

"it would help me to rest" Jon's voice held just the right amount of softest to get his way, he had learned this little trick long ago as a little boy and over the cycles it had proven useful.

"Very well" Mother said, "the main system components of a J.O.N. armored fighting vehicle are as follows, One, driver unit, a bio-humanoid highly trained in the full use of the all offensive and defensive weaponry. Second is the multi-task, over-view, hyper-active, error-null repair unit or Mother, next is the weapons array, the main gun is a phase projector multiplane weapon with a maximum effective range of thirty-nine mils....."

Jon-29 closes his eyes as Mother's soft voice continues to explain the different functions of the JON battle tank.

Some distance from the armored machine a group of mutant Scavengers moves carefully down a crumbling street.

They are tall and strongly built with broad shoulders and thickly muscled arms and legs, they wore torn cast off clothing with bits and pieces of metal attached for protection, and in their clawed hands they held jagged weapons of steel, there are six of them, more than enough to take down and kill most of the creatures in the Wastelands, but there prodigious strength made up for a defect in intelligence, in short they were dumb.

But they had been created like that, they were used for preliminary attack only, to see how much resistance the enemy had, they were never meant to standard troopers and soon into the war they were eliminated as an effective use of materials, but many escaped the purge and scratched out an existence in the ruined cities. They continued to breed with other like them and sometimes even humans so now they were a dominate danger of the Wastelands.

This particular group of hunters was led by a vicious leader, his face had been almost torn off in a fight with another Scavenger, but it managed to survive and attach a steel plate to its features, now "Metal-face" sniffed the air for any sign of flesh-food.

After a moment or two he lifts his large hand and signals to the others of his kind to follow him, with lumbering strides they move down the street.

KT-7 slowly emerges from her hiding place, she and spent the night very uncomfortably inside the cramp confides of her concrete and steel home, but that was only the half of it for that home was filled with biting Blaze-ants and Rock-worms, now as she looked up at the morning sky she was happy to be ride of her tormentors.

She was about to take a quick look around when she heard the sound of large feet approaching so she ran as fast as she could up a tall mound of some forgotten war-machine and crouched down behind a thick metal plate. No sooner had she done this then Metal-face and his ravenous minions rounded a corner and moved towards her fast.

They lumbered along and headed straight for the remains of the fallen Komodo beast and although there was very little of the huge beast left they fell about what remains and began to devour it, this was something that KT-7 had not seen for she knew that carcasses drew the sub-humans to it like Bark-bees to sweet cakes so she always put distance between her and fresh meat. But the young warrior couldn't expose herself to the Scavengers by running so she had to sit and wait until they finished their feast.

But when they had eaten all the reptile flesh they turned their attention to the small mound of rock near it, a few sniffs with their malformed nostrils and they began to rip at the tiny monument, it only took them a few seconds to uncover the small dead creature that once had fought so bravely and begin eating it.

"may you all rot in pain" KT said under her breath, it was hard for her to watch as the consumed her companion and at one point she almost decided to jumped up from her hiding place and kill as many of the Scavengers as she could before they ended her life, then she remembered the words of her Mother.

"Live and fight, die and end" those were indeed wise words so the girl keep her vengeance in check.

Then after a short time the scroungers had no more to consume and returned to their hunting, KT-7 waited for a time then moved down to the street and checking her directional calculator she began the long trek back home.

Jon-29 suddenly opened his eyes.

The control room was dark and only the light from the hole in his tank allowed him to see.

"Mother?" he asked.

But his Mother didn't reply, he quickly looked at his info-screens but they were all dark, he tried recalculations on the different systems but they did not respond, at last he sat back in his chair.

"Mother?" he asked again.

This time there was a slight humming sound and one overhead light began to glow.

"Yes Jon twenty nine?" it said.

"Information" Jon said.

"Available" Mother responded.

"H2O?"

"Hydration systems damaged, water is unavailable".

"Alternatives?" the young man asked.

"Core damage, data unavailable" was the answer.

"If H2O remains unavailable will I terminate?"

"Affirm" Mother said.

Jon had never been in this kind of situation, only once before had his Mini-tank been damaged and without power, it had taken seven whole days and nights to be rescued but that time he had nutrients and sufficient H20 but now he was without both and his body was beginning to betray him.

"If I terminate what will happen to Power, Weapons and you?"

Mother to a long time to answer, "Systems will default to stasis loop for maximum power conservation, when power level is at zero we will lose cohesion and be dispersed, termination beyond recall".

And in return Jon took a long time for his next question.

"What occurs following?"

"Core damage, information unavailable".

"What occurs after final termination?"

"Unknown".

Again there was a long pause, then Jon voice was low, "will we be together?"

"Unknown".

Jon had never really thought about death before, he had brought it to many enemies and had been killed many times but he always knew that he would be reanimated so the fear of death held very little meaning for him, but now it filled his mind so he tried to drive it away.

"Did we win?" he asked.

"Affirm" Mother said her voice beaming with pride, "you have done well Jon twenty nine, your name will be placed in the shrine of records and revenge will be taken in your honor".

Hearing this made Jon's heart beat fast for it was the envy of every trooper that he or she have their names inscribed and be revenged.

Then Power managed to speak, "power is minimal, fuel cells damaged, levels falling, all power is......is...." His voice trailed off into nothing.

The small light in the control room began to dim.

"Mother?" Jon said.

"Yes Jon twenty nine?"

"Do not terminate" the young man's voice was filled with emotion this time.

"No alternative," his Mother said, "low power protocols require placement of all critical system in stasis loop".

"Understood" Jon replied.

"From stasis loop I cannot interface with you, you are an excellent driver unit Jon twenty nine, you have made me proud, end of transmission".

The overhead light goes out and Jon sits alone in his command chair.

"Mother?" he asked, "Mother?" but nothing was heard and Jon knew that he was now truly alone.

Chapter 2.

The Enemy.

Through the haze and dust the yellow morning sun rose over the desolation of the ruined city. Drool-rats, Blaze-ants and other disgusting animals retreated into the dark places in the rocks and there they would wait until night.

For many cycles now the sky had been filled with threatening vapors, and now the time had come for those clouds to release their contents, the rain of the Wastelands wasn't life giving, on the contrary, prolong exposure to the liquid could would cause skin irritations and even death so the first lesson that an Outrider learned was seek shelter when the sky opens.

KT-7 had learned that lesson at an early age so she waited under a blasted battle tank for the deadly rain to pass, when it did she slowly came out from hiding and surveyed her surroundings, there was no sign of Scavengers but she knew that they could appear at any moment, she took a small sip from her canteen and although she was very thirsty she knew that liquid was precious and must be conserved.

Next on the agenda was food but without her survival rations she had nothing to eat, then she spotted a large Eight-legger warming itself on a rock and drawing out her knife she slowly approached it and when she was within range she stabbed the furry creature before it could run. She knew better than to start a fire and draw the attention of Scavengers so she bit into the arachnid and chewed.

As everyone knows Eight-leggers don't taste very good but they were nutritious and she would need all her strength if she hoped to get back to her people, after a few more bites she finished her hairy banquet but the bitter taste remained behind.

"Baaaaa!" she said, "Why does the Goddess create such creatures?"

Then she remembered her rewards, she reached around to the back of her belt and pulled a small pouch from its carrier, opening it she took out a piece of what looked like crystal rock, this was Chum, a name that Outriders gave to a very sweet concoction made from meadow cane, it was cut and dried and then ground up into a paste, dried again into chunks of crystal and given to children as a reward for doing their chores around camp and learning their lessons.

KT-7 knew that Chum wasn't meant for adults but she loved the taste of the sweet confection and carried it with her as a reward for killing the enemy, she was a bit reluctant at first to eat it because of the death of her Tail-gunner but on the other hand she did destroy an enemy crawler so partaking of the delicious reward seemed acceptable to her.

It tasted wonderful.

But she only took a small piece into her mouth and put the rest back in the pouch for later.

"Return to base" she told herself, "A dead trooper is a useless one".

And adjusting her helmet and checking her knife she began to walk once more.

Because of the angle of the overhanging rock above Jon's Mini-tank the acid rain didn't enter and cause damage to the sleeping driver, but now the light from the mornings sun entered the armored vehicle and the driver opened his eyes.

The light was bright and Jon-29 covered his face with his mechanical arm, "Mother?" he asked, but there was no reply. "Mother what interval is it?" but again there was no answer.

After a few moments Jon realizes that he would never hear from his mother again, he laid back in his control chair for a time looking at the sunlight streaming in.

"I must survive to destroy the enemy" he told himself, "I must make my Mother proud".

Jon slowly began un-strapping himself from the chair, first the shoulders, then the waist, he was now free. He lifted himself up and tried to move to the hatch but his umbilical cord held him back, ordinarily when Jon had to leave his Mini-tank for needed repairs or medical attention his Mother would automatically detach him but she was no longer online and couldn't preform the necessary procedure.

So gripping the thick cable with his human and mechanical hands he pulled with all his might, there was a ripping sound and suddenly the cord was free. There was some fluid lose but the self-sealing attachment did its work and cut off the flow, now Jon moved to the access door and turns the wheel, it moves but the door is jammed, but pulling hard the door swung open and with one last look at his armored home Jon move into the outside world.

He climbs down through the rubble and stands beside his tank.

"Mother, I have sufficient knowledge to survive in the outside world, I will not terminate, I will seek and destroy, I will take revenge in your name, I will make you proud!"

Armed only with his strength and determination Jon-29 began his journey.

Not far away KT-7 has stopped, she stands beside the smoldering remains of one of her fellow Outriders, from features on the chard corpse she recognizes it as JA-5 a strong female warrior that taught her many things to survive, beside the body is the remains of her Komodo also burned along with all its supplies, KT had seen many deaths in her time and the loss of many of her comrades but it didn't lesson the pain.

"I'm sorry you're dead my sister, you were a good trooper and a good friend".

And to show her love for her she took a small piece of Chum and placed it in the blackened hand of JA-5, "perhaps this will comfort you in the Afterlife" But KT knew very little about what happens after you die, she only knew the stories that the Elders told and the idea of a green place with fresh water and plenty of food seem absurd to her.

Lands-End they called it.

"There is no such place" she said, but deep down inside her she wished that the old stories were true and that someday she might reach that place and fined a little peace. Then she began thinking about that far away country, a place of endless mountains and fields filled with meadow cane, rivers overflowing with clear fresh water and a sky that was blue rather than yellow.

"Stop your dream-peace soldier" she said shaking her head, "you're not a crib-crier anymore, you're a defender of your land and a destroyer of the enemy", she took one last look at her dead companion, saluted and then turned and walked away.

Back at Jon's Mini-tank things were silent; all that was heard was the crippling of insects and the wind blowing through the remains of crumbled buildings

Inside the armored tank there is no more readouts or information screen relaying data to the driver, Mother voice is gone along with Power and Weapons, all of them now only looping statistics in an endless stream in stasis.

Then something happened.

All M.O.T.H.E.R bio-mechanical crawlers are equipped with a failsafe back up system, the R.O.A.C.H, repair organizer, analyzer calculator and healer, or Roach as it was known, it was a device separate from the control center and didn't register on power readouts or any other data relays, it was placed in all armored bio-vehicles as a last resort in case of catastrophes to the main frame, it had access to just enough energy and information to attempt repairs if resources were available, and the heavy builder machine next to the Mini-tank made that possible.

Now the main info-screen lit up with new information.

"Damaged mechanisms detected, initiate diagnostic sequence" the new voice was small and unemotional, a standard level one device that was not meant to interact with humans.

From the outside of the tank a sensor rose up and began to scan the broken builder machine for any useful parts, as it did it relayed that information to the repair program, and that data now showed on the readout screen.

The Builder was equipped with solar collectors, these were used in construction vehicles for they weren't meant to work after dark, several of the collectors were still intact and could supply the Mini-tank with enough power to reinitiate programs and make repairs, all that was needed was the proper connections, so the Roach sent a command to the Repair-bots to begin work and they emerged from their containers, scurried out the main hatch and onto the machine next to their home. They followed the instructions of the repair unit and attached a power line from one of the solar collectors then waited for the necessary program to take effect.

The main controller of the Builder was old and not up to the standards of the newer repair unit but with some effort the proper adjustments were made and the Roach unit had full control, it moved the round collector into the sun to absorb as much energy as possible and waited for results.

With the cloud screen and haze in the air it took longer to gather enough power to energize the mainline programs but after a time a flicker was seen on another data screen, it had no voice but the info was clear to see.

Mother was coming back to life.

At first it was only a flicker but with each passing second that flicker grew into a flame, then when a minimum level was reached Mother spoke, "Static loop no longer necessary, memory is coherent and information is attainable" her voice was shaky but it grew stronger fast, "systems returning to level one and rising".

The Roach unit continued to monitor energy flows and when it was satisfied that the main data programs were intact it sent a command to the Repair-bots to attached more power conduits to the remaining solar collectors.

More energy flowed into the Mini-tank and soon Mother was satisfied with the level of repair.

"Systems online and rising, accessing Power".

In a few moments the readout screen connected to the energy program returned.

"Power reporting" the voice said, "level one and rising, continue interflow".

When the energy reached level two Mother accessed Weapons.

"Weapons report" she said.

It took a bit longer for Weapons to respond but finally they did, "weapons online but all offensive and defensive units nonfunctional".

"Understood" Mother replied, then she turned her attention to her child, but all information from her boy was gone, "Jon twenty nine, connect with main control at once!" but there was no reply or information coming in. "Jon twenty nine, I order you to respond!'

Still nothing.

At last the power level was enough to allow Mother to scan the control room for any sign of her human charge, but when the scan was completed there was still nothing.

"Jon twenty nine is missing; we must commit all resources to return of driver unit". Mother's voice was strong and committed, but that didn't sit well with the other programs.

"Neg" Power said, "We do not have sufficient energy to commence a search, we are damaged and locomotion is not possible, we must use all resources to repair first".

Try as she might Mother could find no fault in this logic, "very well, we will use available resources to make repairs, we will alter configuration to coincide with materials".

Saying that the main screen lit up with construction readouts, it showed what could be configured from the remains of the Builder and the Mini-tank, the new unit would be stronger and have the added ability of digger claws and solar collectors.

Mother was pleased with the results, "we will make necessary adjustments, we will integrate with salvaged systems and continue the search for Jon twenty nine".

And because they were still too weak to protest Power and Weapons responded accordingly.

"Power concurs".

"Weapons concurs".

"Affirm" Mother replied, "I will have my child back".

And following her orders Roach commanded the repair-bots to continue with salvage and construction.

Jon-29 didn't like being outside, it was too open, the ground was uneven and filled with all sorts of debris, the air smelled foul and the light was constantly changing, how different it was from the perpetual temperature and armored surrounds that he grew up in, there everything was routine and never changing, you woke at a specified time and went to sleep the same way, if you felt hunger you were fed, if you were thirsty you drank, if you were uncomfortable you were given relaxers to make you content. Now on the outside things happened without warning, you had to walk everywhere and there was no one to talk too.

Jon had never been alone in his entire life, there was always Mother or a medical team or combat trainer to tell him what to do and how to think, but now they were gone and with each passing hour the reality of that situation began to take its toll.

Jon lifted his hand and spoke.

"What is your designation?"

After a moment or two his hand replied, "appendage replacement three one one".

Jon had used this particular type of replacement supplement before and found them useful although lacking in companionship.

"Three one one" Jon said, "Can you locate food and H2O?"

"Neg" said his hand, "not programed".

"Can you direct me to movable base?"

"Neg, not programed" the hand replied.

Jon was getting frustrated, "what are you capable of?" he asked harshly.

"I can grip and hold, I can analyze, I can help in healing, I can wipe waste residue from anus".

Jon decided to test the capability of his new arm so he looked around and found a fragment of steel that had been lying on the ground; he bent down and picked it up with his new appendage.

"Three one one, grip!" Jon commanded to his hand.

The metal bent in his hand like paper.

"You have great strength" he told his hand.

"Affirm, I am equipped with level three in gripping power" it said.

Jon dropped the metal and walked over to a small pool of greenish water, "can you analyze this liquid?" he asked.

"Affirm" the hand said, "Place first digit into liquid and I will begin analyzing".

Jon bent down and placed his finger into the small pool and waited.

"Analyzing now" the replacement appendage three one one came with a built in organic analyzer that could quickly detect any danger to its owner, after a moment or two it relayed that knowledge, "analysis complete, substance is harmful to humans, do not imbibe".

Jon withdrew his metal finger and stood up, he looked at his metallic arm and for some reason Jon decided that his new arm needed a better name then simply number.

"Three one one, would you respond to another designation?"

"Affirm".

Jon had never named anything in his life but after some thought he came up with a label that he liked, it wasn't very original but he seemed to like the sound of it.

"Your new designation will be....Gripper".

"Affirm" said the hand.

And with his new companion at his side Jon began to walk once more.

KT-7 was having better luck then Jon-29, she found a small supply of water that wasn't contaminated and she drank till her belly was full then checked her surroundings, she was inside a building with thick walls and a ornately decorated ceiling, it must have been built in the Before-Time for no one would spend valuable resources on elaborate ornamentations like this, the floor was made of polished stone and there was a large metal door leading into a smaller steel enclosure, all about was strewn small bits of colored paper, picking one up the young girl suddenly realized what she was looking at.

"Bribes" she said to herself, her mother had told her the old story about how people would trade these small bits of paper for goods and amenities, but then she knew how primitive they were in the past, "such stupidity" but remembering her training she put a few of the small bills into her carry pouch in case they might be of use later, then she rose headed out the entrance.

She moved cautiously down the street, dodging in and out of broken concrete and steel always at the ready for danger, then as she rounded a corner she saw something that she couldn't believe.

It was a man, a young man wearing a uniform that could only be worn by her enemy.

"Wheel-rider" she said under her breath, and quickly ducked behind a large fragment of broken wall, "I will hide here and kill him as he passes", this made her smile, the plan was simple and effective, she would also have the pleasure of meeting face to face with her enemy and watch him die. She pulled out her survival knife and made sure the edge was sharp, and then as she waited for her prey she offered a little prayer of thanks to the Goddess.

"Thank you for bringing me this enemy to kill, I will gut him and offer his heart to you as a tribute".

Jon-29 had training but didn't fully realize that walking down an open street was very dangerous, but he had confidence in his own abilities and didn't want to seem like a first cycle infant, adding to that was the fact that he was talking to his hand.

"...further more I have been in combat situations seven hundred and ninety four times and my kill score is high above that, have you ever terminated anyone?"

"Neg" the hand replied, "I am not programed in that area".

Jon continued to talk to Gripper as he approached the hiding place of KT-7 it was only when he was within three meters that the hand called out a warning.

"Enemy within perimeter!"

Jon's reaction was swift, "Gripper blade!" the long defense knife-edge shot out from his metal hand and he braced his feet. KT-7 had lost the element of surprise but that didn't stop her from her plan, with a loud scream the female warrior leaped for her prey, Jon's metal appendage deflected the sharp edge of KT's knife but his weapon found only empty air.

Back and forth they fought under the hot sun, each trying their best to destroy the other; Jon's hand to hand combat training proved its worth and his enemy couldn't find an opening to drive her knife into. But KT had been taught by her mother who was known for being one of the best Blade-dancers in the Outlands.

On and on they fought, jumping, leaping, moving like sand dragons in mating season, the young girl tried to use her long spurs as weapons but with each jump her opponent defected her attack so neither of them could gain an advantage, then after some time they drew back and faced each other.

"Nupargo Var Goodorga" KT-7 said breathing heavily.

Jon-29 was familiar with the linguistic of some of the Outlanders as all good Tankers were, but he had no knowledge of this one, "are you of the Northern tribes?" he asked as he sucked in lungful's of air.

"Baaaa" KT said shaking her head, "the tribes of the North are weak" she replied and this time she spoke in words that her opponent could understand for like him she knew more than one form of communication, "I said that you were a good fighter".

"Yes, that is why I will be victorious" Jon replied, but his chest rose and fell rapidly and anyone could see that he would have to be very lucky to survive.

"You will not win" KT said, "I will be proven the better fighter!"

"You are incorrect" Jon replied.

"why is that?' the Dragon-rider asked.

"You are small and I am large" the young man said, "stronger is always victorious".

Hearing his words the young girl laughed, "Have you ever seen a Shaft-beetle?"

Jon shook his head, "Neg".

"They are small but their stingers carry a poison that can exterminate a creature many times their size", KT said, and to emphasize her point she held up her knife.

"insects can be crushed by a hand" then Jon picked up a small bit of broken steel laying on the ground with his mechanical hand, "Gripper crush!" and in an instant the fragment was crumpled.

But KT-7 was unimpressed, "you will need both hands to defeat me.......Varractar!" and shouting a battle cry of her tribe she leaped for her enemy once again.

They battle resumes but again neither of them could find an advantage, KT uses every blade trick she knows, lowering her guard to draw in the enemy then attacking when she found an opening but her opponent always stayed out of her reach. But when Jon tried to grab her long enough to use his weapon on her she would slip from his grasp with clever wrestling moves making his superior strength useless. On and on the fought each trying to find that one opportunity for victory, but it never came, they were to evenly match for either side to win, but with one last desperate lunge KT manages to scratch Jon's cheek.

Jon moved back and wipes the blood from his face with his right hand, "I have bled before and still killed my enemy".

They circle each other again, each one looking for a weakness, but after a time KT-7 lowers her weapon.

"Truce?" she asks.

This is a word that Jon hasn't heard before, "Truce, what is truce?"

"It's a temporary secession of hostilities".

"For what purpose?" Jon is skeptical of this offering but he is also very tired.

KT lowers her knife further and comes a little closer to her rival, "we truce so we can recover our strength, there is no glory in killing a weak enemy, so what do you say Metal-head do we fight or do we truce?"

Jon had never given up a fight in all his lives, but that was when he was in his command chair and had access to a multitude of weapons, now he was alone with only a dim-witted hand to aid him, he decided to lessen his pride a little and give in.

"I will truce" he said, "but only for a limited period".

KT-7 slowly moves back and sits on a concrete slab but doesn't take her eyes off the young man for a moment, Jon watches her every move as he rests on a broken steel beam, they continue to stare at each other for a time then Jon makes a comment.

"You are strong".

"So are you" the girl replies, "what is your designation?"

Jon snaps to attention and looks her in the eyes like any good trooper, "I am Jon twenty nine, command driver first class tanker division".

KT doesn't get up from her seat, "I am KT-7 Komodo rider of the Rowgal tribe, unit alpha, the best attack unit in all the Outlands".

Jon was well informed on the strength of Komodo attack riders because he had been killed several times by the armored beasts and their drivers but he wouldn't admit that to an enemy.

"Komodo are obsolete and easily defeated in battle" he said proudly.

Hearing this KT had to laugh, "Ha! If Komodo are so weak why are you walking one arm?"

Jon couldn't think of a good answer so he said nothing.

More time passed and the sun continued to beat down on them like a hammer on hot steel and all during this time the two warriors sat staring at each other, sizing up one another's strengths and weaknesses.

Jon could see that mere strength wouldn't bring him victory, the girl was too quick and skilled with a blade to come within his reach, and for all her bluster about being a warrior he had to admit that she was a strong opponent and it wouldn't be an easy task to victory.

KT-7 also began to understand many things about the enemy she now faced, even without his armored vehicle he was deadly, he had only one arm but that arm could kill her in an instant if she was ever foolish enough to come within its perimeter, no, to avoid termination she would have to use her wits and training to dispose of this intruder.

And still the sun bore down on them then at last KT-7 made a move for her canteen, seeing her do this Jon jumped to his feet and prepared to fight once more.

"No you thick skulled Machine-brain" KT said, "We are still truce".

With his muscles ready for another fight Jon watches the girl take a small metal container from her belt and drink, then she lowers the vessel and looks directly at him.

"Are you thirsty Iron-rider?" she asked.

Jon was very thirsty and the thought of having cool water in his parched mouth made him overcome his hated for the girl.

"Affirm" he said.

The warrior woman got up and carefully moved towards her enemy, she put the canteen on the ground and moved back to her hard chair, Jon waits for a few moments then approaches the small metal container and picks it up, but he is so thirsty he forgets his training and doesn't smell the contents first, he takes a long drink.

"This is not H2O" Jon said spitting out the foul tasting liquid.

"Of course not" KT smiled, "water is for baby-suck, I gave you well-aged Fire-brew, I made it myself, is it too strong for a Metal-head like you?"

And not wanting to seem weak Jon took a large mouthful of the disgusting liquid and swallowed it down, it burned his throat like fire and it took all his will not to spit it out again, but he had to admit that the concoction seemed to make him feel better. With his thirst satisfied he put the canteen back on the ground and moved back.

KT gets up and retrieves her canteen, "how do you like the taste?" she asked with a smile knowing that she was well known for distilling the strongest Fire-brew in all the Outlands.

"The taste is weak, like you" Jon replied.

And again the Rowgalian girl had to laugh, "Haaaa, you're a tongue-liar if ever I heard one".

Jon sits resting for a time then asked a question of his opponent, "You are the enemy, why do you share?"

"I told you already Fuel-eater; there is no glory in defeating a weak enemy".

"Affirm" Jon said with a smile, "I cannot be defeated, only destroyed".

Hearing this KT also smiled, "then there will be glory in destroying you".

"You can try" Jon replied.

But the truth was that neither side was eager to resume their fighting so they sat and stared at each other as the sun began to set.

Jon's damaged Mini-tank was no longer the same, the Repair-bots had worked quickly and added useable parts from the Builder to the damaged hull of the attack vehicle, they replaced the smashed armor and even added more to help in the its defense, there was a wide digging blade at the front and several solar collectors connected directly into the main power batteries. There were also two large steel claws at the sides that extended forward like the arms of a Crab-shell, and with the programs from the other machine Mother could manipulate the steel appendages with great accuracy. Now with the sun going down the Repair-bots returned to their holding containers and there they would wait until needed.

Inside the newly modified tank were other changes, the interior was now completely repaired and new info-screens added, Mother had also included controls for the lifting arms to the command chair in anticipation of the return of Jon-29.

"Power?" Mother said.

"Online" Power reported.

"What is your status?" she asked.

Powers voice was strong once more, "energy is a fifty percent, damage to primary energy systems are still in effect, solar collectors will begin to function at Sunbirth".

"Affirm" Mother replied, "Weapons report?"

"Main armaments are still non-functional, use of primary defensive weapons are obtainable".

"Affirm, activating primary weapons".

Outside the two steel claws began to move, they opened and closed in a deliberate show of power.

Mother didn't have her child back but she knew that it would happen soon.

Night was fast approaching as the two combatants continued to watch each other; finally KT looks over at the setting sun.

"The light is going" she said.

"Then we will fight in the dark" Jon replied calmly.

"Correct, light or dark I will still kill you".

KT-7 gets up and slowly approaches her enemy, she pulls down the visor on her battle helmet and looks out through the image magnifier, and there she sees a night-vision image of the young man.

"Is the truce ended?" Jon asks as he rises to his feet and lifts his metal arm.

"Affirmative" KT says with a smile, "time for you to die".

But as they move slowly around each other the young girl suddenly stops and turns her helmeted head, the standard battle headgear of a Komodo rider came equipped with an air disturbance amplifying device very useful in night maneuvers, now the sensitive device picks up the sound of danger.

"Listen" KT said.

Jon tries his best to hear what his enemy does but without his command chair and its amplifiers he hears zero.

"I hear nothing".

KT listens for a moment or two more then points down the street, "danger approaching from that direction".

"Danger?" Jon asks, "What configuration is the danger?"

"That kind!"

A dozen or more ravenous Scavenger's race down the broken avenue and at the head of them is Metal-face.

KT knew that running would prove fatal for the brutes loved to take down their prey from behind, "run if you like Metal- head, I'm going to fight!"

Jon now had two enemies to face, one was a human like himself the other were mutants of the Outlands, quickly he picked a side, "I will not retreat!"

Bracing their feet for the attack Jon and KT stand side by side.

With a howl the Scavengers fall upon the pair, the first two are cut down fast, KT's knife drives deep into the hairy chest of one of the creatures and find its heart; she cuts deep and is sprayed by warm blood. Jon ducks under the arms of his opponent and drives his metal weapon up and under the jaw of the lumbering giant, its long hardened blade penetrates the thick skull of the creature and as it falls to the ground the young man pulls it free.

The leader of the group sees his two followers die and that seems to have some effect on him, his brain is small but self-preservation is part of his make-up so he holds back and lets his fellow mutants continue the attack while he watches for any sign of weakness.

And attack they do, soon KT and Jon are fighting back to back, what one misses the other kills,

At one point a mutant leaps on Jon pining his right arm to the ground, the close fighting makes it difficult to use the long killing blade of his mechanical arm.

"Blade close!" Jon orders.

"Affirm" Gripper responds, "blade closing".

With the attack knife retracted Jon reaches up and grasps the thick neck of the Scavenger.

"Gripper crush!" he orders.

"Affirm" replies the hand.

Jon squeezes with all his mechanical strength and the neck bone of the huge creature gives was and he slumps forward, Jon pushes him off, jumps to his feet continues the battle.

KT's fighting skill didn't rely on brute strength, rather she used her speed and cunning to stay out of the deadly range of her attackers crude weapons and when she found an opening her knife struck like lightening.

In a very short time the pair killed three more of the scroungers and that brought results for Scavengers are cannibals and seeing easy picking they turn their attention to their dead comrades and this gives enough time for the two humans to make their escape.

KT-7 and Jon-29 run fast down the street and duck into an alleyway, they continue running for a time then move into a large building and hide from site, as night closes in they find a safe place to recover their strength.

The building itself has been picked clean of materials, there were rows of empty shelves and the roof has a large hole in it and through which the diming sky could be seen, all about were small rodents and insects vying for whatever meager scraps they could find.

The two combatants move to the back of the darkening building near a large crack in the floor, in the dim light an underground tunnel way could be seen but beyond that nothing more. The weary warriors sat down to rest, their bodies are covered in blood and small wounds but nothing of any consequence, KT pulls her canteen and takes a long draft of Fire-brew, she then hands it to Jon as she breathes hard and deep.

At first Jon doesn't know what to make of this offering.

"Here take it" KT says between deep breaths.

Jon takes the vessel and drinks from it, this time the offending contents didn't seem as bad as before, and it seems to lessen the pain he now felt coursing through his tired body.

He took two more sips then handed the container back to the girl, after a few more minutes of gasping and letting the alcoholic beverage sink he Jon confronted KT.

"Do we fight now?' he asked.

KT takes off her helmet and lays it on the dirty floor near her, "we can fight at Sunbirth, tonight we can truce", she then takes a small tube from her belt and begins to put a soothing ointment on her many cuts.

Jon lifts his hand and speaks, "Gripper, engage medical aid".

"Affirm" said the appendage and as the human moves it over his body it begins to emit a greenish spray, a disinfectant that kills bacteria and helps in healing.

KT sees the metal arm do its work and is very impressed, "do all Iron-riders come equipped with those?" she asks.

Jon shakes his head, "Neg, it is a temporary replacement appendage that I will use until I return to mobile base".

"And what makes you think you'll ever return?"

"Because we are superior and will be victorious" was Jon answer.

The young girl only smiled at hearing this, "if you are superior how come you couldn't kill me?"

Again Jon didn't have a response so he concentrated on the wounds to his body.

"Disinfectant applied" Gripper reported.

"Affirm" Jon replied.

That should have been the end to the conversation between the young man and his replacement arm but it wasn't.

"Information" the mechanical appendage said.

"Input" Jon said.

"My sensors report an enemy combatant in range".

"Affirm" Jon replied looking over at the young girl, "attack will be halted, we are truce".

"What is truce?" asked the device.

"Defer information, redefine humanoid as.......as?" but Jon couldn't think of how to classify her so he did the next best thing, "define her as temporarily non-hostile".

"Affirm" the hand said.

KT took a rag from the floor and did her best to clean the blood off her body, she knew that it would attract rodents and insects and he didn't want to spend the night worrying about those creepy clawers. When she was done she got up and began looking around, it had been a long time since she had eaten anything of substance and with luck she might find something that the Scavengers had over looked.

Jon-29 watched her every move, on the one hand he knew that she was still the enemy but he also had never spent so much time in the presents of a female, it was true that he had combat training with them but this was different, he could sit an observe her walk and the shape of her body and that seemed to please him very much.

Soon the young girl returned with something in her hands, they were two round metal containers, she sat down and began working on opening one of them with her, after some effort the container opened, she smelled its contents then used her blade like a serving fork and began eating. Exactly what was inside the can didn't seem to matter to the girl and soon the container was empty and she wiped her face with the back of her hand. She set the remaining canister on the floor next to her and looked at Jon.

"Hungry?" she asked.

"Affirm" Jon said.

KT picked up the unopened can and tossed it to the young man "rations" she said, "shall I open it for you?" she asked with a slight smile.

But Jon needed no help in that area, "Gripper, opener" he ordered.

"Affirm" said the hand.

Instantly a small cutting blade shot out of the index finger and Jon used it to open the container, he took a whiff of the contents and it made his nose revolt so he took his finger and put it into the mixture.

"Gripper, report" he said.

After a few moments of processing he received the information he sought, "Substance is a mixture of animal body parts and organic fillers with a substantial quantity of preservatives; it is safe to digest".

It took only a short time for Jon to empty the contents of the can and he had to admit that he did feel much better.

"Your arm is very useful" KT commented.

"My mother gave it to me" Jon replied.

With her belly full the young girl prepares for sleep, she takes off her helmet and takes a small device from her belt, it is the size of a small Peck-bird egg, she puts it on the floor near her and presses a small button on its top, immediately a phantom like ring surrounds her emitting a low hum.

"It's an alarm field" KT says, "if you come within range I will kill you truce or no truce, you comp that metal-head?"

Jon sits leaning against a broken table, he removes the mechanical arm from his elbow and puts it in front of him, and a small LED light begins to blink on the little finger.

"My hand never sleeps" he said.

KT makes a grunting sound then sits back facing her enemy; she holds her knife at the ready and slowly closes her eyes.

Jon doesn't know why but he can't seem to take his eyes off of her, there is something about the line of her strong body that arouses strong feeling inside him, the way the moonlight falls on her face, the shape of her lips and the long suppleness of her neck. How long he continued to stare at the female Jon didn't know but after a time he closed his eyes in sleep.

Ordinarily Jon's rest would be supplemented by drugs from Mother to make sure his rejuvenation was unencumbered by dreams but now he was alone and his natural relaxation took over, but his dreams were filled with strange images, images of KT-7 walking under the night sky and then stopping to pick up a broken bit of metal laying on the ground, she takes the fragment and uses it to cut off her uniform exposing her femininity all the while smiling at him then as the last of her clothing falls away she look at him with burning eyes and holds out her arms.

"Kill me" she says.

With a start Jon-29 opens his eyes; he lifts himself and franticly replaces Gripper to the stump of his arm.

"Gripper online" he calls out.

"Online" the metal arm replies.

Jon looks over to see KT-7 turnover in her sleep and not wanting to rouse her she speaks in a whisper, "what information do you possess concerning sleep images?"

"Not programed for that response" replied Gripper.

"Understood" the young man replied, "Has there been any movement from the female?"

"Neg, I would have sounded the attack alarm".

Satisfied that everything was in order Jon removed his metal arm and put in back on the dirty floor, then he laid back and after a time he fell asleep but all through the night his mind was filled with images of the enemy girl.

There is no movement inside the machine that Jon-29 once called home, Weapons, Power and even Roach have all gone into rest mode to wait for Sunbirth and resume their operations, but Mother emotion programs was overriding her programing and she didn't shut down to conserve energy, on the contrary she was using it to satisfy a longing inside her.

She now projected a three dimensional image of her child sitting in his command chair, it was not the fully grown human that she lost but a small infant of no more than two cycles, it was naked with only a small metal umbilical cord attached to its abdomen, it lay crying and seeing this ghostly image Mother responded.

"Crying is a waste of energy Jon one, you have nutrients, the temperature is regulated and your body is not injured, there is no need for an emotional outburst".

But still the small creature cried so Mother changed the image to a more tolerable one, there she saw Jon-6, well developed and able to control a simulated attack vehicle with advanced precision.

"Jon six you have shown great combat skill, you have made me proud".

A smile shown on the face of the small boy and that seemed to please the emotion simulators that controlled Mothers interactions.

There was one final image that the main controller wanted to see, it was Jon-29, mature and strong, the perfect killing machine, the ultimate in attack drivers and weapons targeting, seeing him like that brought the energy level in Mothers emotion programs to a very high level. And this in turn woke Power from its static state, "there is a power drain, checking all circuits".

But before that could happen Mother discontinued the imaging and the control room went black.

While some machines rested others didn't, the Armageddon had sustained damage in the battle with the Outlanders but now is sat in a safe area away from any city or outpost, its huge pitted surfaced crawled with Repair-bots of all sizes, small ones to fix cracks in the armor plating and larger one to replace them, surrounding the great machine were dozens of patrol pods scanning for any sign of danger or traces of the enemy.

Inside things were also busy, technicians of all ranks hurried about like Blaze-ants checking and rechecking section after section, making sure that every program was functioning at prime levels and energy was being used to its maximum effect.

And overseeing it all was the Commander, he sat in his control chair looking down at the replacement leg that had finally been repaired, but for all its strength and ability to allow him to walk he still hated the idea of having to rely on metal flesh to move around, and adding to his discomfort was the fact that he hadn't slept in over forty two time periods and now even the stimulants that he was taking were not working as they should.

"What is our status?' he barked to one of the Tecs near him.

The Tec was reluctant to reply at first but his fear gave in, "repairs are proceeding on timeline, power is being maintained and we should have full combat ability in approximately twenty four time periods".

"That isn't good enough; I want full capability in twelve time periods!"

"But AA one I don't think that we....."

The Tec realized too late that he had contradicted his Commander and that meant only one thing; he would be taken to a pain amplifier and then his lifeless body moved to food processing. Now faced with such a horrible end he fell to the floor and lay their whimpering like a third cycle child.

The Commander slowly rose from his chair and walked towards the sobbing man and looked down at him, he had known him for a very long time and always considered him a strong and capable technician, so he lifted his metal foot and brought it down hard on the skull of the Tec crushing it flat.

"Replace this man at once" he said then turned and lumbered back to his chair.

The Commander hadn't killed a man face to face in a very long time and now that he did his mood changed to something that might be construed as happy?

It was still a long way from Sunbirth when Jon's finger alarm went off.

"Danger within perimeter" Gripper called out.

Bolting upright Jon grabbed his arm and attached it back to his elbow then held it out in front of him.

"Gripper, blade!" he commanded.

"Affirm".

Quickly the attack blade extended and Jon strained to see what the danger was in the dim moonlight.

At the same time KT awoke from her light sleep and clutched her knife ready for any attack, but looking around she saw only a large Drool-rat nibbling at the remains of their last meal.

"Your arm is not very intelligent is it?" she asked, "it doesn't know a Low-crawler when it sees one".

Seeing that the danger was only a rodent Jon lowers his hand, "my replacement arm is the latest survival attachment".

"Then you won't survive long will you?" the girl laughed.

"Mechanisms can sometimes be faulty" Jon replied in defense of his metal appendage.

But Gripper could speak for itself; "the danger is not the rodent" it spoke.

Jon held up his arm to his face, "clarify the danger?" he asked.

But before the hand could answer a rustling sound is heard and looking over the two humans see a horde of small misshaped creatures rising through the crack in the floor. They resembled the pig-like Tail-gunner that rode behind KT-7 but these naked little monsters were far different, they had thick arms and legs and a wide mouth set with rows of cutting teeth, they had no eyes to speak of and it was clear that they spent their entire existence in darkness.

"Earthers" KT said under her breath for she had seen this before and she knew that they were going to kill them.

Slowly she moved beside Jon, "don't make a sound, they hunt by sound echo" she whispered.

The two humans watched the creatures climb out of their underground home and begin to move towards them, as they came closer Jon saw that they had large ears, small noses and clawed hands. Their skulls were covered in boney plating and they had no genitalia. They moved slowly always cocking their head first to one side then the other trying to pick up any vibration that might lead them to food, as they drew nearer Jon's heart began to pound.

When they were within a meter or so of the humans one of them stopped and pointed his head directly at the pair, KT-7's hand tighten around her knife and her muscles tensed ready to fight, beside her Jon-29's heart beat faster and faster but he did not move or make any sound. But he had forgotten one thing, his hand.

"Danger within perimeter" it said.

With a primal scream the little creatures attacked, Jon and KT were once more fighting for their lives, the Earthers didn't seem to care if they lived or died so they came at their would be food in waves, jumping over their dead comrades as the two warriors cut them down.

KT-7 moved to a steel support so that she could not be attacked from behind, beside her Jon continued to cut with his blade weapon, but even though they killed dozens of the strong little creatures they were hopelessly outnumbered.

"There are too many of them" KT called out to Jon as she drove her knife into the breast of one of the vile creatures.

"Affirm" Jon replied as his metal hand broke the neck of one of the attackers, "but less than before".

But for every one they killed two more took their place and soon the bodies of the dead piled up around them but still the little monsters kept coming and at last the humans were overwhelmed by a mass of deformed bodies and captured.

Beaten and senseless the pair were bound with wire at the hands and legs then lifted and carried to the crack in the flooring; they were lowered down then dragged along the rubble covered bottom until they were unconscious.

It was sometime later when Jon-29 woke up, his head hurt and his vision was burly but after a few moments his sight began to clear and he could see where he was.

He was in a pit surrounded by a cave of some sort, the cavern was about fifty meters across and just as much high, the walls were not natural and must have been dug out but not by machines for they bore the markings of clawed fingers. The pit was rocky and filled with small stones and bits of broken wood.

It was hard to make out anything for the light was very dim, luminance came from small cracks in the rock ceiling through which moonlight entered, it wasn't much but it was enough to let Jon know that they were underground. And they were not alone for all around him were hundreds of the little mutant creatures that had captured him; they were calling out in a language he couldn't understand and waving their arms. With his eyes now accustomed to the meager light he looked over to see KT-7 beside him.

Jon tried to move but found that he was tied to a wooden post in an upright possession, strong wire held his legs and arms and a thicker one around his torso and although he tried with all his strength he couldn't break the sturdy bonds. KT was bond the same way and slowly she opened her eyes. The young girl had lost her knife and helmet but her survival belt and its belongings were still around her waist, perhaps the little monsters didn't know what the equipment was for or they didn't care but either way KT was glad that she still had them. Clearing her head she looked down at the floor, there she saw dozens of skeletons, but not the misshapen kind that must have dwelled under the skin and organs of the Earthers, these were human remains and instantly KT knew what was in store for them.

Her mother had often told her the stories of the underground dwellers, how they worshiped a terrible god and how they would offer sacrifices to that deity in the form of human flesh. She was only a child then but she remembered how much it frightened her and now it looked like that nightmare was about to come true.

Looking at her companion she smiled a little, "well Wheel-rider it looks like we won't be seeing who the better fighter is".

But Jon wasn't about to surrender, he could feel his arm pressing on the small of his back so extending his blade weapons would only result in him cutting his spinal cord in too and not wanting to die that way he talked to his hand.

"Gripper, report!"

From behind his back he heard a small mechanical voice, "reporting" it said.

"Information, can you break bonds?"

"Neg, bonds are beyond my grip".

Jon began to feel around with his other hand, he could touch the wooden pole that held him and found that it was approximately a hand spread wide so he grasped the shaft and began to tear at it with his metal fingers, the process was slow but soon bits of broken wood began to fall to the ground, with enough time he might be able to weaken the pole and escape.

"KT seven" Jon said, "I am proceeding with an escape plan".

The young girl was about to tell him that he was a weak minded Junk-jockey but before she could do that small rocks began to pelt her from above, looking up she saw that the under grounders were throwing the small stone and making sounds that she could only guess was laughter.

"Die and rot in this stink hole you vermin of waste!" she shouted, but then she felt the ground under her begin to move, slowly at first then looking down she saw several black beetles crawl out of the earth, Juice-suckers, and seeing them made her fear of creepy clawers rise up inside her.

it was well known that KT-7 was one of the bravest of the Komodo riders, time and time again she had guided her beast into battles where there was little hope of victory and with the help of the Goddess she had survived, and even if she had been killed she understood that there was a chance that she could be reanimated, but seeing the filthy insects heading for her made her wish that she could immediately leave this world and never return. Now she understood the reason for the stones, the Earthers were summoning the little creatures so they could sit and listen to the screams of their dying captives, it was a pleasure that they found very amusing.

Quickly more of the vile little things poured out of the ground and started to emit a high pitched clicking sound, soon it grew to a painful level and then they began to crawl up the legs of the two humans.

KT tried to remain calm but her fear was overtaking her and to try and keep her sanity she began to sing a victory song of her people.

"Riders of the land so free, warriors of the light, defenders of the moon and stars we conquer with our might!"

But she could feel the sharp mandibles of the Juice-suckers biting into her flesh and she began to scream in terror.

Beside her Jon was also being eaten alive, but he remembered his training and concentrated his mind on breaking the wooden pole that held him, more splinters fell to the ground but would there be enough time or would he die in pain?

The biting vermin had reached KT-7's face; she shut her eyes and closed her jaw hard trying to prevent the horrifying bugs from entering her mouth or eating out her vision, but with hundreds of the beetles swarming over her head she found it difficult to breathe. Now every terror of her childhood came sweeping back to her in a wave of fear and loathing, the time she fell into a Blaze-ant nest and had to endure their painful bits and the day she was wounded and swarmed by a horde of Land-leeches. She wanted to cry out but that would only make things worse so she remained silent but inside her mind she could hear her own screams.

Jon also closed his eyes and mouth but he continue to work at his escape, then when he thought the pole had been weakened enough he pulled forward with all his strength and the shaft broke with a loud, "snap!"

He slipped his hands out of the bonds confining them then tore away the wire holding his feet and chest, he swept the insects from his body then turned to help the girl next to him, using leverage and strength the young man broke the shaft holding KT-7 and helped her remove the torturing creatures, they were now free but not out of danger.

"I don't need your help" KT said pushing Jon away from her body, "you're still the enemy and I will...." Her words were cut short by another sound, the screams from the Earthers continued as a huge creature broke through the soil and rose up on its many legs.

The Juice-suckers weren't adults they were infants, their bug-mother lumbered about in the pit searching for any sign of food, it was the size of a full grown Komodo but with hard overlapping shells as thick as the plating on a Crawler, its head carried no eyes just long feelers that waved about sending information back to the tiny brain, there were two curved pinchers the length of a man's arm that opened and closed hoping to cease any prey and hold it long enough for the suckers at the mouth to drain it of all fluids.

now KT-7 understood what the underground dwellers prayed too, and she wasn't about to give up her life to this abomination of a God, she picked up the broken beam that once held her and used it like a lance to drive into the hissing monster, her feet slipped on pools of foul smelling slim as her boots crushed the bodies of the Juice-suckers, with each step she heard a loud "crunch" but it gave her satisfactions that she was taken revenge on her tormenter.

Jon-29 also picked up his broken shaft but he had another plan in mind for this new enemy, he help up his hand and spoke.

"Gripper, combustion" he shouted.

"Affirm" said the hand.

And immediately a stream of flame shot out from his second finger, its wasn't enough to do any damage to the heavily armored insect but it would be enough to ignite a torch, so holding it at the dried end of the pole it soon burst into flame and then Jon turned to help his companion. Together KT and Jon forced the creature back, it hissed and tried to spray them with a corrosive acid but being blind it couldn't get a fix on the humans above the screams of the Earthers.

Soon the small bits of wood in the pit ignited and the huge creature was caught in a sea of flames, it crashed about hitting the sides of the enclosure and pulling down enough rock and dirt to allow the humans to escape, with one last lunge Jon-29 drove the burning shaft deep into the side of the monster, it hissed in pain then rose up on its hind legs and crashed into the side of the pit, Jon began to climb up its body followed closed behind by KT-7.

With the flames rising the underground dwellers went into a panic, they raced around like Blaze-ants and there screams filled the cavern and overwhelmed any noise from the humans, KT and Jon moved nimbly through the madding creatures cutting down anything that challenged them then they raced down a tunnel into the dark. Soon the light from the flames died out and the channel grew dark but Jon turned to his hand once more.

"Gripper, luminate!"

"Affirm" and a small but powerful light began to emanate from the wrist of the metal device, with its help Jon and KT continued down the tunnel in safety.

Chapter 3.

Comrades.

.

It was Sunbirth when Kt-7 and Jon-29 emerged from the underground, they spent the night searching down one corridor then another trying to find a way to the surface, at last they stumbled upon an ancient locomotion system called a subway and followed it to an exit point. They both took a moment or two to breathe in the open air and warm their faces in the light, then KT turned to her enemy.

"I'm unarmed, you can try to kill me now if you think you can?" she said.

Jon knew that even without her knife it might not be an easy thing to destroy her; she had excellent fighting skills and might be able to deflect his strikes and maybe even kill him? But besides the question of victory there was something that made him hold his attack, something he couldn't settle in his mind so he decided to delay his efforts.

"There is no glory in defeating a weak enemy".

Hearing Jon repeat her own words made the young girl smile, "very well" she replied, "perhaps we should negotiate?"

"Negotiate?" Jon asked, "What is that?"

"We will continue truce until I can find a suitable weapon and then we can continue our fight, do you accept my terms?"

"What are terms?" Jon asked.

"They are specific guarantees the will allow us to continue truce" she answered, "do you agree?"

Jon had experienced many new things since he left the confines of his battle tank, he had fought with an enemy but couldn't defeat it, he had shared food and drink with that enemy and then fought by that enemy's side, all this went against his training and he was beginning to doubt his convictions.

"But to not fight, there is no honor in this" he said.

But KT shook her head, "there is, my mother taught me that there is a time for killing and a time for truce".

"You had a mother?" Jon asked.

"Of course" KT smiled, "she carried me inside her and nurtured me, and she taught me how to fight".

"my mother carried me inside her also" Jon said, "she kept me safe, taught me to fight, to survive, then I had to come out and live in this world, she has terminated now".

"So has mine" KT said in a low voice.

Jon realized that the enemy and he had much in common but he had never heard the words "negotiate" or "terms" but he didn't want to kill the girl right now, not after what she said, "I will negotiate and I will accept your terms".

"Then I will not kill you...for now" the young girl said.

"And I will keep our truce, unless you attack me" Jon replied.

"Done" KT-7 spit on her hand and held it out, but Jon simply looked at it and didn't move, after a while the young girl lowered her offering, "you have a lot to learn about agreements Lost-limb", and turning she began to walk away. KT-7 turns her head to look at Jon, "well are you coming or will you stay here until the Scavengers get you?"

"I cannot defeat the Scavengers alone, I will come with you".

So walking side by side but keeping an eye on each other the two warriors moved down the street, as they walked they continued to talk.

"You saved my life, why?" KT asked her companion.

For a moment Jon was at a loss for words, he knew that he should have let the girl die and use his strength to escape because that was how he had been trained and it was the right thing to do, but looking back he couldn't understand why he didn't do just that? At last he came up with an answer that he hoped would be suitable.

"I was hoping to take you back to HQ where you could be dissected and any weakness found so that we might defeat your kind more swiftly".

"I comp" the girl said, "and do you know the vector back to your people?"

Of course Jon had no idea where Mobile command was stationed, but he wasn't about to let his enemy get the better of him, "of course I do, but I am not going to relay that information to an enemy", then Jon took a moment before he spoke once more, "do you know the directional vectors to your base?"

"Negative, I was hit by a power blast and my gunner and Komodo were killed and my directional data eliminated".

"Affirm" Jon said with a smile, "I am highly trained in weapons accuracy".

The young girl suddenly turned and struck Jon in the face with her fist, "you and your invaders killed my friends!" she screamed, "kill me if you like but don't medal your chest with my comrades".

Jon-29 stood there rubbing his jaw as KT picked up a jagged piece of metal from the ground rubble and pointed it towards her companion, it wasn't a very effective weapon but it could still cause damage.

There was a very tense moment as Jon considered his alternatives, he accepted the girl's terms not to kill her until he was attacked and now he had been, but he also didn't want to be alone and there was something that she said that intrigued him.

"What is a friend?" he asked.

KT-7 slowly lowered her weapon and shook her head, "are all Wheel-riders as skull-thick as you?"

"What has the density of my cranium have to do with friend?"

KT began to regret her offer to truce, "come with me and I'll try and brain-work a way to communicate how my people have remained strong".

And as they walked the girl tried to explain friendship to the young man but she knew it wouldn't be an easy task because enemies are not gifted by wisdom from the Goddess.

With the solar power from the bright morning sun the repaired Mini-tank was now fully charged and ready to begin her search for its missing command driver, it had almost doubled in size and with added drive wheels, armor plating and defensive claws it no longer resembled the efficient configuration that the smaller tank had, the main weapons were still damaged but with time and the right replacement parts they would be able to spread death and destruction like before.

Inside the armored vehicle Mother was prepared to continue her quest to return her child,

"Roach program will now disengage" she said.

Mother had used the repair program to configure the new design but now it was no longer needed.

"Affirm" Roach replied, "Shutting down".

The info-screen that was used for repairs faded to black.

"Power report" Mother ordered.

"Energy is seventy percent and holding" Power informed.

"Weapons report" she said.

"Main weapons still nonfunctional, secondary mechanical appendages available".

Mother connected with all the new programs that she had taken from the Builder machine.  
"Damage to system has been restored to an acceptable level we will know commence search for Jon twenty nine and restore him to driver command".

"Neg" Power said, "your orders are contrary to main directives, energy levels are insufficient for long term search, we must obtain fuel cells that will allow us to replenish weapons and operate in darkness".

But Mother wouldn't be deterred, "Neg, we will find and restore driver unit, override program in effect".

But that program could not override the machines main programing.

"Neg" Power said once more, "Seek and destroy the enemy".

Mother tried to override that program but she couldn't and after trying several different circuitry avenues she gave in.

"Affirm, initiating search program for replacement of fuel cells, when that is accomplished we must locate Jon twenty nine, driver unit is necessary for full functionality of this combat vehicle".

"Affirm" Power replied, "Replacement of driver unit can be obtained at main control".

But Mother wanted her child back, "Neg, recovery of original driver unit is necessary; replacement will not suffice, initiate operations and engage scanners for fuel cell replacement".

With replacement parts and power the main scanner was able to function again and after a short time it was able to pick up small energy traces.

"Fuel cells located" Power reported.

This pleased the main control units "affirm, set heading for fuel replacement, engage power".

Slowly the repaired machines potent engines began to engage, with the power from the sun the level of force rose and the modified tank began to pull against the mass of concrete and steel that held it captive. But even with full power engaged it couldn't pull free.

"Engage reserved power" Mother ordered.

"Reserve energy will over load repaired systems" Power reported.

"Override, engage reserve power" the main control system ordered.

And with the engines turning at maximum power the armored machine began to free itself, the overhang gave away and toppled to the ground, smaller rocks and pieces of steel clattered like Cry-birds then the tank was no longer a prisoner.

"We are no longer weak" Mother said, "We are stronger and will be victorious!"

"Affirm" Power said.

"Affirm" Weapons added.

And so the once damaged tank rolled away from the machine that restored its capabilities and began a quest to find her orphan.

Jon-29 and KT-7 walked slowly and carefully, they knew that at any moment they could be attacked by Scavengers or worse and as they moved KT tried to talk some sense into her reluctant companion.

"You are the invaders not us" the aggravated girl said, "all these buildings and the land beyond belongs to my people and we will defend it to the death".

"These structures are broken and the land is barren and useless" Jon replied.

"Then why do you want it?"

"Because you are here" the young man's logic seemed perfectly correct to him, Outriders are the enemy and they should be destroyed, seek and destroy them wherever they are.

KT-7 decided that talking to such a Jack-jerker was hopeless so she kept her mouth shut.

The pair continued forward in silence then the young man spoke.

"The air smells" he said sniffing several times.

"The air is the air, perhaps you smell yourself" the girl chuckled.

"I do not smell myself, I think I smell you".

"Maybe" she said, "if you smell strength and victory".

"Does victory smell like dead Outrider?" Jon asked.

But the young girl remembered the words of her mother, "sacrifice is the little sister of victory".

Jon-29 shook his head, "we will win, we are stronger, we cannot be defeated, our weapons are superior, and we will seek and destroy until victory is achieved".

"Reality" KT said, "is that why I had to rescue you from the Scavengers?"

"Your memory core is malfunctioning" Jon smiled, "you should be repaired and you designation advanced to eight".

"At least I still have both my arms" KT replied holding up her hands.

"My arm is very useful" Jon commented, "you should have one of yours replaced?"

But before KT could answer the pair rounded a corner and there laying on the ground was a dead Komodo beast, there was very little left of the huge animal for the Scavengers and insects had done there worst and cleaned most of the flesh from its body, but there were still a few large legs bones still intact.

"Food" the girl said and moved straight for the carcass, there were still a few Flesh-scrappers picking at the remains but few waves of her hands and the girl drove them off, now it was simply a matter of cracking open the massive leg bones to get at the tender marrow, but KT-7 had lost her knife and digging with her crude weapon proved to be futile.

"What are you trying to accomplish?" Jon asked for he never had to break a leg bone to eat, Mother had always given him all his nutrients.

"There are rations inside this bone but I can't break it" KT answered and she was about to pick up a large rock laying nearby and try to use it to shatter the tibia but Jon stopped her and she dropped the stone, then the young man spoke to his hand once again.

"Gripper?"

"Online".

"Use maximum power to squeeze".

And bending down Jon put his mechanical hand around a section of bone and squeezed with all his strength, there was a cracking sound and the bone gave way, the reddish marrow was exposed and KT smiled at the results.

"I will comply with you that your replacement arm can be useful but I will still keep mine", and saying that the companions began to fill their empty stomachs with bone contents.

Some distance away the resurrected war-machine lumbered through the fallen city, now and then it came across Scavengers but they scattered like dry leaves in the wind when the metal monster approached, its massive weight made the surrounding buildings tremble and more than once they came tumbling down as their weakened superstructure felt the shaking caused by the huge machine.

"Fuel cell replenishment is near" Mother said.

"Affirm" Power replied, "energy is at fifty percent, solar collectors are a maximum but alternatives must be acquired soon".

Down the narrow avenue a group of Scavengers were squabbling over the remains of a Fang-cat that they had brought down, the large feline had killed two of the scroungers but that only added to the feast, the ripped and tore at the feline and the dead mutants making primitive grunts and threatening gestures, then as the huge tank approached them they turned to face it.

Weapons was the first to report, "primitive humanoids fifty meters ahead, no energy weapons, threat level is only at level one".

"Affirm" Mother replied "continue on vector".

When the armored vehicle was only a few meters from the Scavengers they began to pound the ground with their metal weapons and scream in defiance, ordinarily they would have scattered fast seeing such a large moving creature but their hunger was great and they didn't want to give up their kill to another.

"Enemy is not retreating" reported Weapons.

But Mother held fast to her orders, "extend claws and prepare to attack".

"Affirm" Weapons replied.

The two great steel claws that had been salvaged from the Builder machine now came into play; they opened and closed making a grinding sound.

All but one of the Scavengers turned and fled but one didn't, he held his ground hoping that his screams and pounding would be enough to win his fleshy reward.

He was wrong.

One of the great claws ceased him in its powerful grip and cut him in two with a loud "snap!" Then it cast him aside sending his upper torso one way and his lower body and legs another.

"Enemy destroyed" Weapons reported.

"Affirm" Mother replied, "Continue to fuel cells".

Ahead of the machine lay another relic of the war, this one was only recently destroyed and from its design and the markings on the sides it was an energy supply unit Mark-3, it was used as a fuel cell carrier with only limited defense capabilities.

"Advance and scan for energy cells" Mother ordered.

The Mother machine drew near the battered hulk and began to scan it for the needed replacement parts.

"Cells located" Power reported, "two functioning energy cells with the correct configuration have been found, with the added units our energy level will advance by five point one. Five point one wasn't a large degree but it would add to the overall capability of the machine, but then the scanners picked out something that might be of great use.

"Scanners have detected two energy weapons" Weapons reported.

"Affirm" Mother said, "activating Roach repair program".

The repair program info-screen lite up and a voice spoke, "R.O.A.C.H. program is a last resort in case of total systems failure; I should not be used frivolously".

"I am main control and will active systems as I see fit".

After a moment the repair unit complied, "online" it said.

"Affirm" the superior program said, "Integrate scanned replacement weapons into existing systems".

"Affirm" Roach then began to lay out a design that would place the two new weapons on either side of the rebuilt machine and thus increase its destructive power, with the main and secondary guns damaged it would need these to smaller weapons to defend itself when the time came.

Now the Repair-bots began their work once more taking the two fuel cells and armaments from the broken mechanism.

KT-7 and Jon-29 had come to a vacant street in the vast city, it was still filled with rubble and other broken bits of civilization but there weren't any Scavengers or other dangers that could be seen.

"Vector this way" KT said pointing down the street.

"Why should be advance in that direction?" asked her companion.

"Because the wind will be at our backs and that will make it harder for the Scavengers to track us" the girl replied.

This made Jon a little angry for he couldn't find any fault in her logic so he followed her down the cluttered avenue. Then after a short time they came upon a dead Komodo and figure laying in the street, immediately KT-7 recognized the bloody form and rushed to its side, bending down she looked into the face of a man she knew well.

"I comp him, he was a subordinate in my unit" she looked him over carefully and realized that he hadn't been dead more than a few days, "he might have useful intel".

She took the cranial info-connector from her belt and activated it, then she pulled a long thin wire from the device and lifting up the head of the fallen Outrider she pushed its sharp tip deep into the ear canal of the dead man. Then she adjusted a few setting on the connector and pressed the "on" button.

The dead warrior began to jerk and his broken limbs thrashed around like a broken play-doll, then his eyes opened.

"JP six" the girl said, "information is required".

Slowly the dead eyes focused on the girl and with slurred speech the cadaver spoke.

"KT seven it's good to see you, what information do you require?"

"I need the vector to the closest emergency supply depot".

"Coordinates are five, seven, three, vector two seven, four point six kilometers" suddenly the corpse began to shake, then it lay still, "can you initiate my repair sequence?" JP-6 asked.

"Further iterations are not possible" KT said shaking her head, "you're scrapped, I'm sorry".

The eyes of the warrior looked at her and a small smile crossed his dried lips, "understood, permission to withdraw?"

The girl looked into the eyes of her friend one last time, "permission granted".

KT-7 switched off the reanimation device, laid the bloody head of the warrior back on the ground and slowly stood up, she picked up the helmet of her comrade and put it on her head, his supplies and other useful items were gone then she turned to Jon-29.

"We have to bury him so the Scavengers won't get him" she said.

"But he has terminated and cannot be reanimated, we should leave him and conserve our strength" the young man replied.

"I won't leave a comrade to be eaten" KT said angrily "I will put him someplace safe".

And she picked up what remained of the man and carried him up a series of concrete steps and into a building entrance nearby, the structure itself was constructed with thick stone masonry and steel, it had a large tower that was mostly intact and on top of it was a symbol that was used to mark it as a place where a God lived.

Jon watched her but didn't help, but he did follow her inside the structure.

The huge building was somewhat intact, there was a large hole in the high ceiling and damage to the thick walls but it still stood upright and was filled with rows of ornate columns, wooden benches and many broken statuary. In the Before Time this was a place of worship by people who believed in a powerful but mysterious deity, some said he was the most powerful being in the universe while others said that he wasn't, but that was all in the past now and his temples were only a reminder of a forgotten time.

Jon-29 watched at the girl walked to one end and placed the remains of the dead man on a large slab of chipped stone, she stood there for a moment then he heard her speak.

"This is JP six, Komodo rider second class, he told good stories and shared his water, he will make a good companion in the Afterlife", then she began to place broken bits of rock and mortar on the body.

Jon watched her for a time then picked up a stone and was about to place it on the dead man when KT stopped him, "your people killed him, the Goddess would be angry if I allowed you to assist".

So not saying a word Jon stood back and waited until the girls work was done. Then KT put her hand on the pile of rocks, "rest easy and may you find Lands-End." And saying nothing more the young girl walked out of the building and Jon followed her, they moved down the steps and into the street where they started to walk once more.

"What purpose did that ritual serve?" Jon asked.

But KT-7 was in no mood for teaching her slack-brained companion, "why don't you ask your hand?"

Jon shook his head, "my replacement limb is not programed in that area".

KT didn't reply as she uploaded the vector setting into her directional finder, when it was done she looked the small info-screen then pointed, "Our vector is that way".

And walking in silence the pair heading towards what they hoped would be safety.

The twelve time periods since the Commander had ordered that repairs must be completed were up and now he stood up from his control chair and turned to the technician who was checking his info-screens.

"Do we have attack capabilities?" he asked in a harsh voice.

The tec nervously turned to his superior, "repairs on hull have been accomplice and power is at eighty percent but energy transfers are weak and full power may not be possible at this time".

The Commander taped his metal foot on the hard steel floor, a habit that he did when he was weighting the options, this continued for a time and the technicians grew more worrisome for they understood what the consequences were for failure, then the tapping stopped, and he sat down.

"Full power now" the one legged Captain ordered.

"Full power engaging" replied the operator of energy.

The massive Corbalight engines began to wine as power was to be transferred to them, the great machine rumbled and shook and began the immense drive wheels that propelled the centipede like battle craft started to turn.

This brought a smile to the thin lips of the Commander exposing his metal teeth for now he would be able to continue his attack and destroy the enemy but then his grin faded as the engines began to slow.

"What is the snafu?" it was easy to see that the Commander was very angry even if his voice wasn't.

The Power technician had served with the Captain for many cycles and knew his different voices and he knew never to underestimate his wrath, "power relays are deteriorating, energy transfer cannot be continued". And no sooner had he said that then the engines shut down and the war-machine was silent once more.

The Commander sat there for a time not saying anything or moving then he pressed a com-link on his chair, "Send a full replacement crew to central command".

Everyone in the control chamber knew that their lives would soon end, and you might wonder why they didn't rebel and try to take over the ship knowing that they would be taken to food processing? That would be the logic of most humans but these were soldiers, trained and conditioned to serve and defend and never to disobey orders, so when the Enforcers came and they were lead from the room they didn't protect or say a word, they simply moved in an orderly file passing their replacements who took their seats and began to check info-screens.

When they transfer had been completed the Commander rose from his chair and began to speak, "our purpose is to seek and destroy the enemy, and we will continue to follow those orders to total victory, is that understood?"

And in one voice the replacements replied.

"Affirm, seek and destroy!"

Sitting back down the Captain turned to the new power technician, "I want full attack power in twelve hours".

"Affirm" said the tec "full attack power in twelve time periods".

Then the Commanders settled back in his seat and began tapping his metal foot once more.

The sun was beginning to set when Jon-29 and KT-7 approached a huge concrete building, it was build low to the ground and showed damage from direct hits of weapons fire, but the energy bolts weren't powerful enough to penetrate the sturdy walls so whatever was inside was still intact. There were no windows and only one entrance showing, it was a heavy steel door and although it also showed signs of battle damage it was not broken.

"What place is this?" Jon asked.

"It's a structure that your weapons couldn't destroy"

Jon shook his head, "that is not possible, our weapons are superior and any target we acquire is destroyed".

"Then why is this building still standing?" the girl asked.

It took a moment or two for Jon to come up with a suitable answer, "this structure must have no military importance therefor we did not destroy it".

"Your intel is faulty Rock-crusher" KT smiled, "this is where we want to go".

Near the entrance stood a huge heroic stature of a soldier holding a weapon in hands, it was made of metal and also showed attack injury, in its dress it resembled KT-7 for it also had body armor and a horned helmet on its large head, it stood silently looking out over the city like a monument to some past glory.

"Engage null-speak and remain still" KT said and she slowly moved towards the metal warrior, when she was directly in front of it she took the knife that she had taken from JP-6 and cut her finger, she then moved to the statue and wiped her blood on its left boot.

Jon was about to tell her that she was wasting precious body fluid when he heard a humming noise, immediately his arm sounded the alarm.

"Danger within perimeter" Gripper called out.

The huge statue slowly started to move, several small Cry-birds abandoned their nest as the metal human lifted its arms and pointed the weapon in its hands at the young girl, and then it spoke in a low rumbling voice.

"KT seven, Outrider, Rowgal tribe, Komodo unit shock troop three, identity confirmation needed".

The young girl called out in a loud clear voice, "Alfa, Tripod, Lancer".

There was a tense moment as the metal guardian confirmed the passwords of the human, "identity confirmed" the machine man said, then it pointed its huge weapon at Jon-29, "Prisoner?" it asked.

"Confirmed" KT replied, "transporting for interrogation and liquidation, require immediate resupply".

Again there was a moment as the guardian checked his programing, "emergency supply depot activated" it finally said.

The huge steel door to the depot slowly opened and KT moved back to her companion, "do not speak or make any sign of aggression or you will be destroyed, you comp that?"

Jon nodded his head then followed the girl passed the steel sentry and into the darkness.

Night was falling fast and the Repair-bots hadn't completed their task of transferring the energy cells and weapons installment.

"What is the remaining completion time on repair program?" Mother asked.

"Approximately three point nine mid-cycles" Roach replied.

"Continue repairs" the control unit said.

Mother was eager to resume her search and every hour in delay meant that her child might be harmed by the dangers that were outside her metal embrace, but the other programs in the battle tank didn't share her concerns.

Power was the first to respond "Continuing repairs in darkness will deplete our energy reserves to an unacceptable level".

"I concur with Power" Weapons added, "we will not have enough energy to activate newly acquired armaments and will be subject to attack without defensive capabilities".

"Retrieval of command drivers is priority one" Mother replied, "all power must be channeled to that purpose".

Weapons was programed to terminate the enemy and although a command driver would greatly add to the overall destructive power it was not the number one priority, "if we encounter Outriders we will be destroyed".

"I concur with Weapons" Power added, "We should wait until solar collectors can add to our energy then continue search for driver unit".

Mother understood that if they were destroyed she wouldn't find her missing child so she compromised, "we will discontinue reconstruction and conserve power but scanners will remain online to continue search".

"Affirm" Power said.

"Affirm" Weapons added.

"Roach, discontinue repairs" Mother ordered, and obeying her directive the repair program shut down and the Repair-bots returned to their containers, one by one the info-screens went dark with the exception of one, the long-range scanner, it would remain operational sending out a search wave and waiting for returning information.

And all through the night Mother would monitor that program and hope for any sign of Jon-29.

KT-7 and Jon-29 entered the fortress and the great steel door closed behind them, there were small lighting devices on the walls but only a few were still operating so Jon lifted his hand once more.

"Gripper, luminate".

"Affirm" and quickly the small powerful light began to glow from the mechanical limb and with the added illumination the pair continued forward. The tunnel went on for some time with KT leading the way.

"Why did you not let the weapons robot kill me?" Jon asked.

"That might have drawn the attention of attack forces" she said calmly as she held her knife at the ready, "beside I prefer to terminate you myself when the time comes".

Before the young man could answer they rounded a corner and moved into a larger chamber that was well lite, this room was filled with artifacts that Jon had never seen before, graceful statuary, paintings, tapestries of fine workmanship, ornate tables and chairs, shelves filled with leather bound books, gold and silver finery, crystal glasses and bowls, thousands of remembrances from the past all preserved in this underground domain waiting for the destruction above to finally end.

"Information?" Jon asked.

"What?" KT said.

"What sort of supply depot is this?"

"This is not the supply depot" KT answered as she continued into the room, "This is for After-time storage".

Jon continued to gaze at the many splendid objects surrounding him, but he couldn't understand their purpose, "these are not weapons or food", and he reached out with his metal finger and touched one of the paintings near him, "analyze" he said.

"Affirm" replied Gripper, and as the hand scrutinized the materials from the work of art KT spoke to her companion.

"There is no food or weapons here" she said, "these are treasures from the Before-time; they are stored here for the Peace".

"The Peace?' Jon asked.

But before the girl could answer Gripper reported on his findings, "the substance is a combination of animal oil mixed with organic compounds to produce a specific shade in the optical spectrum, commonly known as color, do not imbibe".

Then KT lead them into another corridor, this one was short and from the opposite end a small "tapping" could be herd.

"Keep quiet" the girl said, "Scavengers may have gained access".

Hearing that Scavengers might be ahead of them Jon once more spoke to his hand.

"Gripper, blade!" he ordered.

"Affirm" the hand replied and the long attack blade sprung out.

The pair slowly moved forward both of them ready for danger and as they exited the corridor and into another storage room, this one also has artifacts and painting but it's also filled with machinery and transport vehicles of all descriptions, large attack craft and smaller fast moving ground trucks, the pair move past these and see what is making the rapping sound.

It was a small pig-like humanoid much like the Tail-gunners of the Outlanders, this one was a bit taller and wearing a padded workers uniform, he had heavy boots on his short legs and a wide belt around his bulbous stomach, from it hung a myriad of tools, small one for delicate work and larger ones to remove stubborn blots, he had a broad flat face with a wide nose and small eyes and his mouth had two large teeth the protruded upwards like tiny daggers. His large head was covered in a helmet that had different devices for analyzing attached to it, all and all he looked rather comical but in reality he was an efficient worker.

The little creature is repairing a large multi-wheeled military truck, it's has a armor plated control cab at the front and a flat carry bed in the back, on its platform is a heavy defense weapon with four large barrels surrounded by miscellaneous ammunition containers and supplies.

KT looks at the genetically created being then puts her knife back in its scabbard, "we're safe now" she said and approached the truck, when she was a few meters from the vehicle the little Pig-man turned to her and drew a small pistol from his belt.

"Gotaro untinara?" it spoke.

KT lifted her hand, "Baktor nirada" she said, KT seven, Outrider, shock troop three, designation?"

"Depot maintenance" the little creature said in a grunting voice, "level three, detached from forth regiment second battalion".

"Unit status?" she asked.

"Expended, I alone remain, I seek a command unit".

"I except you as a subordinate unit" KT replied.

Slowly the little man lowered his gun and stepped forward, "Netegra orgnamore, what is that?" he said pointing to Jon.

"Prisoner, truce in effect" the young girl answered, "you are a repair unit, what is your designator?"

"They called me Fixer" the little creature replied.

"Very well Fixer, we require resupplying".

"Rations limited" Fixer said, "weapons available but substandard, only crude projectiles useable, Land-master restored no plasma armaments, projectile only, they are not very good but better than nothing".

KT began to look the heavy truck over "we need weapons of any type, this transport will do".

Fixer looked at Jon with a wary eye, "I am not a prisoner transfer unit, this enemy should be terminated". And he began to draw his weapon.

This action caused Gripper to reacted, "enemy within perimeter!"

"And his hand should be dismantled" the Pig-man added.

"Later" the girl said, "we'll R and R here for now".

Jon watched the little man for a moment then when he was confident that he wasn't going to be attack he spoke to his arm.

"Close blade" he said.

"Affirm" the arm replied and the sharp weapon retracted.

Jon moved to a wooden storage crate and sat down, but he always faced forward and watched the movements of the girl and the little man with great interest.

Fixer moved to the front of the huge truck and began tinkering with its powerful engine.

KT began to take off her armor and clothing, despite her hard demeanor underneath she's still a women, and an attractive one at that, her strong athletic body bore some scaring but that didn't distract the gaze of Jon, he watched her remove her survival helmet and garments until she was almost naked with only a small halter top of tan cloth and a strip that covered her lower waist.

Jon watched her and remembered his strange dream, now it seemed to be coming true?

KT-7 still retained two arm braces that went from her wrist to her elbow; her combat knife was placed beside her within easy reach.

As she turned around to show her back Jon saw a large image covering her torso from the nap of her neck to just above her buttocks, it was a dragon tattoo of wonderful craftsmanship, the twisting body was colored in greens and yellows with a horned head and clawed feet, from it gaping mouth a stream of red and yellow fire shot out covering her left shoulder and cascading down her arm, the large eyes of the monster were golden and seemed to have a life of their own.

"There is a creature on your back" Jon said.

KT quickly runs her hands over her torso, "is there a Land-leech on me, is there? I hate leeches!"

"Neg" Jon answered, "There are no leeches on you, I was speaking of your markings".

The young girl relaxed, "yes, that is the insignia of my unit; the Fire-dragon is strong and intelligent...like me".

"Affirm" Jon said, "you are strong but your body is nominal".

The young girl relaxed and continue to make herself comfortable, "nominal? You are incorrect I have a superior body, I have been passed through all levels of training and testing for an Outrider, and although I have been terminated and reanimated seven times I still remain strong", then she looked at Jon and smiled, "you have undergone twenty-nine iterations but I can still see that you need more work".

Jon looks down at his metal hand, "affirm, so do you".

This makes KT angry, "what do you mean" I was in battles for this city when your kind first invaded our land!"

Jon-29 rises to his feet and shouts at the girl, "we did not invade; we repelled your forces and pushed you back where your kind belongs!"

"Your brain-work is faulty, you need more repair!"

KT turns and away and picks up her canteen and drinks deeply, then she slowly sits down and watches Jon do the same, she takes two more gulps from the metal container then holds it out to Jon. "You want some?" she asks.

Jon isn't sure about the girl, her emotions seem very erratic and without logic but he had never had the pleasure of close contact with the opposite sex and therefor unprepared for their strange behaviors, but he was thirsty.

"Affirm"

The girl stood up and handed the canteen to Jon then watched him consume two large mouthfuls of the fiery brew then he handed it back to her where upon she also drank deeply.

"You want more?" she asked.

Jon was quickly growing very fond of the strong tasting liquid and nodding his head he took the canteen and again drank a large quantity of its contents. Soon the metal container was passed back and forth until there was very little of the alcoholic concoction left, but it had done its job and the two humans were no longer hurting from their wounds or worried about Scavengers attacking them.

With his head spinning some Jon looked over at a renaissance painting leaning against a wall, its portrait of a woman holding a baby and the workmanship is superb.

KT sees Jon staring at the image, "do you require information?" she asks a bit tipsy.

"Affirm, why does this screen display a child unit in the company of a female?" Jon asks.

KT takes one more drink from her canteen then puts in on the floor near her, "that is an ancient permanent display of a mother with her child".

Hearing her answer makes Jon laugh, "Neg, that is incorrect, female units are not mothers, they lack the capacity".

"Your brain must be war-weary" the girl said, "My mother was a female".

Jon shook his head from side to side making him a bit dizzy, "incorrect, females are warriors not mothers!"

Now its KT-7's time to laugh, "We can be both strong warriors and caring mothers, as I said the repairs to your brain are faulty".

"You are the enemy, you are incorrect!"

This makes the girl rise to her feet again, "and you're an Iron-assed, Machine-head who has spent too much time in coma-freeze!"

Jon also rises to his feet posed for a fight, "and you are a foul smelling Beast-herder that would not know a multiplexing phase converter from a stress fractured base plate!"

It was clear to see that the two were about to end their truce and return to killing each other, but a moment before they do Fixer addresses his Commander.

"Reporting, repairs to the Land-master are completed, I have also located additional rations and ammunitions" the little man said proudly.

After a few moments of staring at each other KT looks over at Fixer, "excellent, we will depart at Sunbirth" then she turns back to her thick headed companion, "truce?"

Jon's head was spinning so he decided that trying to kill the girl would not be a good attack decision.

"Truce" he replied.

KT sits down again and drinks the last of her Fire-brew, and then she notices that Jon is once again gawking at a painting, this one shows a man kissing a woman.

"Now what are you looking at?" she asks.

Jon points to the work of art, "what duty are those units performing?"

"Their lip-pressing Rivet-head".

"Lip-pressing, is this a maintenance activity?"

"Negative, pressing of the lips is how bucking begins" the girl answered, "well most of the time anyway", the girl begins to check the edge of her knife and then rubs it back and forth on a small bronze statue near her to sharpen it.

"Bucking?' Jon replies, "What is bucking?"

"Bucking" KT answers, "hump-grinding, belly-warming, you know, sex!"

Jon begins to examine his metal arm for any signs of damage, "affirm, yes, sex, I have information on sex, it is very complex".

Satisfied that her knife is efficient KT takes a small metal device from her supply belt and begins to comb her unruly hair, "at first bucking is awkward but you get better as you go, and it's very pleasurable if you do it correctly".

The young man stops tinkering with his metal limb, "you have performed this procedure?"

KT removes a small insect form her comb and crushes it between her fingers, "affirmative, yes, many times, but I'm not a bivouac belly-warmer, I don't just buck with anyone", the girl removes another creepy crawly and dispatches it quickly, "my buck partners never complained, I was even selected for future service in a reproduction unit" she said proudly.

"Understood" Jon said returning to his arm.

KT watches him for a time then asks him a question, "You're a no-timer aren't you?"

Jon doesn't say anything and concentrates on his arm; it's easy to see that he doesn't want to answer his female companion.

Nearby Fixer has been listening to the conversation as he loads more supplies into the armored vehicle, but having no reproductive organs the subject is of no interest to the little man.

KT looks around the room and sees a magnificently carved statue of a naked young man holding a bow and arrow, perhaps it was the Fire-brew taking hold of her senses but she stared at the figure for some time admiring its physique and feeling a longing rising up inside her.

"I don't bypass no-timers" she commented, "they're just more effort that's all, take you for example, I think you could learn if you had a good teacher".

This statement grabs Jon's attention, "you wish to mate with me?"

"Well you're not very intelligent but you have a nice bottom cushion so I guess it might prove entertaining...unless you're afraid?"

This makes Jon stand up, "I am a fully trained combat driver, I am never afraid!" then he takes time to think his procalmation over, "this will involve close contact will it not?"

"Very close" KT said with a smile.

"Will we need to negotiate?" the young man asked.

"State your terms" the girl said.

"Terms?" Jon began to think about the meaning of the word and after a short time came up with an answer, "my terms are these, that you do not kill me during mating, that we promise truce for the duration of the procedure".

KT-7 thinks this over then comes over to Jon and nods her head, "my terms are in mind-sync with yours, do you accept?"

"I accept" Jon replied.

KT once again spits into her hand and holds it out to her companion, this time Jon spits into his mechanical hand and shakes hers.

"There is saliva on my surface sensors" Gripper said, "remove substance!"

But Jon didn't seem to hear the request of his appendage because he was focused on the task before him.

"When do we initiate mating procedures?" he asked.

The girl looked into the eyes of her enemy, "this seems like an acceptable time".

"Affirm" said the nervous young man.

KT-7 moved to an open space by the heavy transport and took a thick weather cover from the back, she spread it on the ground then began to remove the last of her clothing, except for her long arm braces, as she did Jon began to take off his survival garments.

It had been a long time since he was naked; the last time was when he had sustained burns to his right side when his tank was hit by a thermite charge, the control room exploded in flames but the automatic fire retardants kept the damaged to a minimum, but he still had to have a lot of skin replaced with Plasti-flesh and some nuro-fibers to his face.

When the last of his clothing was gone he moved over to where KT was waiting for him, he sat down next to her and tried to remember the sexual diagrams that were a part of his technical training, as he did KT took her knife and stuck it into the hard floor near her.

"Just in case our truce is canceled" she said, then she reached out and took Jon into her arms, but the feel of his metal appendage made her flinch.

"Did I damage you?" Jon asked.

"No, your replacement arm is cold that's all".

Jon lifted his hand and spoke, "Gripper, warmth".

"Affirm" said the hand.

There was a soft hum and slowly the metal limb began to warm, after a moment the young man reaches out for the girl and this time she doesn't pull away.

They kiss.

Fixer watched the strange actions of the two humans for a time but it all seem very confusing to him, they carried no tools and seemed to be concentrating on seeing how close their lower extremities could make contact.

"He will not repair her that way" he said shaking his large head.

Chapter 4.

Survival.

The night passed slowly for the Mother program; she didn't go into low power mode like Weapons and Power to conserve energy, she longed to have her command driver back in his control chair and feel his life functions once more flowing through her circuitry. Now there was a flicker of light and an image of her lost child appeared in the chamber, he sat like always with his strong hands on the controls and his gaze fixed on his readout screen.

"Jon twenty nine" she said softly, "I have trained you well and you are now a strong and capable warrior, you will seek and destroy the enemy and make me proud".

"Affirm" the recorded voice of the holographic image relied.

Then Mother called up a recording that she had made a long time ago, back then the driver unit had a designation of Jon eighteen, he was only a third level command driver but learning fast.

"Enemy is advancing" the image said, "I cannot lock weaponry on their attack units!" Jon's voice was fearful.

"Remain calm Jon eighteen" Mothers voice was strong and comforting, "you are safe within my armor, I will protect you, you will survive".

The image rocked in its chair as a simulated hit struck the tank.

"Main power is offline" Jon's voice was shaky, "no response, negative maneuvering!"

But Mother was there to calm her frightened child, "I repeat, you are safe within my armor".

Two more powerful blasts rock the image.

Jon-18 had reached the end of his courage, he took his hands off the controls and pulls at his harness and umbilical gasping for breath, "Mother help me, Mother please!"

Jon collapses back in his chair and covers his eyes with his hands, there is a flash of light and the image fades.

Hearing the voice of her offspring calling for her didn't satisfy Mother and she deleted the image program, then another program sprang into view, this one showed Jon twenty as he fails at command diver upgrade training. He was supposed to target and destroy four advancing enemies simultaneously but managed to eliminate only three.

"You have failed Jon twenty" Mother scolded, "one enemy penetrated your perimeter and destroyed you, you must concentrate on the inevitable destruction of the enemy, I will protect you from them".

"Affirm" the image said, "I have been deficient in my attention to destroy the invaders".

"What has distracted you from you mission?" she asked.

"I have thoughts", Jon twenty said, "distracting thoughts of female command drivers".

There was a longer pause as Mother formulated an answer, "understood, this is a normal development, when the time is correct your interests will be satisfied for the glory of your people, for now it will be modified, this will assist you to concentrate on your mission, to seek and destroy the enemy".

An amber fluid passes through Jon's umbilical cord and into his body, the young drivers face grows calm and relaxed, "Affirm".

"Good boy" Mother whispered.

But seeing the images of her lost son didn't satisfy the master control program and the control room returned to darkness and silence and it continued that way through the rest of the night.

Sunbirth rose over the fallen city bathing the ruined landscape in gold and crimson, the heavy Crawler sat unmoving, then as the first rays of sunlight touched its solar collectors her many programs came online.

"It is now Oh six-hundred" Mother said, "continue repairs and weapons addition".

"Affirm" the Roach program replied, "Repairs will be completed in three point nine mid-cycles".

Immediately the Repair-bots went to work following the designs that were uploaded into them, now along with the weapons and energy cell replacement the Roach added retractable armor plating over the solar collectors to aid it there protection from damage.

"Energy is at sixty percent and rising" Power reported, "we will have full locomotion coinciding with completed repairs".

"Affirm" Mother said, "Weapons report?"

"The addition of two level three weapons will add to our defensive strength" Weapons reported, "but main attack weapon and sky-fire are still off-line until suitable repair parts are located".

"Once system functions are repaired we must initiate search and rescue operations for diver unit Jon twenty nine".

The other control systems understood that it would be a waste of energy to engage in a debate that would be overridden by the master sequencer so they remained silent and concentrated on their selected functions.

Deep inside the supply bunker Jon-29 was sleeping soundly, his dreams were filled with images of KT-7 and this pleased him very much, they were much like before with the young girl taunting him with her body and eyes but this time she didn't asked to be terminated, this time she took him in her arms and their bodies entwined. Then he felt something tapping on his foot and he slowly opened his eyes, he looked up to see the girl that he had dreamt about staring down at him.

"Sunbirth has taken place, we must evac immediately" she said. But the young man was slow to rise and KT shook her head, "you sleep like a stunned Sand-dragon".

Jon slowly sits up but suddenly his vision begins to spin, "why does my head hurt?"

KT begins to laugh, "Don't tell me you're a first-timer with Fire-brew also?"

Jon doesn't answer and slowly rises up, he stood naked and unsteady on his feet then looks over at his female companion, she is fully clothed in fresh armor and uniform, she has a supply belt around her waist and a un-used survival helmet on her head, her arms still carry the long braces from before and her strong boots have riding spurs, at her side is a small pistol and large knife.

"You better cover that thin skin of yours" she commented, "we have a long way to go and I don't want to see your bucking tool until I'm ready again".

Jon-29 moves to a crate nearby where a standard set of Outrider gear is laying, there is a padded uniform and armor plating, a survival belt, heavy boots, gun and knife, everything to help him travel the dangerous outside world. There is even a small can of rations waiting for him and when he was fully dressed he picked up the metal container and as he did before he opened the container.

"Gripper analyze" Jon said sticking his metal finger into the unknown contents.

"Affirm" the hand said, and after only a few seconds it replied, "contents are ground up animal flesh mixed with organic substances and large amount of manufactured preservatives, marginally edible".

But with his stomach calling out to him Jon didn't want to weight the consequences of something "marginal" so he ate the food and to his surprise it tasted rather good. As he ate he watched KT help load the last of the supplies onto the armored truck, then when he had finished his meal he moved to where KT was standing.

"You were correct, your mating skills are well developed" he told the girl.

The female warrior looked at him for a moment then smiled broadly, "of course, I told you that I was well informed by my mother".

The pairs stand there for a time as KT returns to her loading.

"You have not reported on my mating skills?" Jon asks.

The girl thinks this over for a short time, "they were......adequate" she finally responds.

This information doesn't sit well with the young man, "adequate, you are certain of this?"

But Kt-7 doesn't appear to understand the gravity of the question, "affirmative, yes, your performance was quite adequate", the as she continues her work she sees that her comments weren't well received, "yes, very adequate I see great potential for development with the proper training and practice of course".

Hearing this report eases the concern in Jon face but he still has one more question to ask, "You are the enemy why did you mate with me?"

KT comes close and looks him in the eyes, "my mother once said that death always rides beside you so don't waste time in honey-talk".

"Your Mother was a wise woman" Jon said, "but I could have discontinued truce and killed you".

The girl smiles and lifts her arms, suddenly two short needles spring out from the arm braces, "nuro-toxin, you would have been dead in five sounds, My mother said don't waste time but not to be foolish", then she picks up a crate, "now that your male self-esteem is satisfied you can put that metal member of yours to good use and help me".

Not that far from the underground fortress Metal-face and his Scavengers have found the body of JP-6, their keen sense of smell directed them straight to the corpse when they emerged from their hiding places during the night. There wasn't much flesh left on the body and they ate it quickly, around them ancient prophets looked down of them in stony silence but the half-humans didn't care if they were observed or not, and how could marble statues of a God long forgotten possibly do them any harm?

But as they finished the last morsel of flesh their Leader heard a sound and turned to see several more Scavengers entering the crumbling house of worship, ordinarily Scavenger groups avoided contacted with others of their kind but when they were hungry enough they would fight over scraps of food and the winner would enjoy the feast.

Metal-face lifted his crude weapon and let out a loud roar signaling that he was prepared to fight and in return the leader of the intruders did the same, that leader was a bit taller than Metal-face but not as strongly built, he had a long scar across his ape-like face and two of his fingers were missing from the hand that held a long steel club.

Again Metal-face gave out a roar but it didn't seem to frighten the hungry scroungers who now advanced forward, the two sides were now only a few meters apart when suddenly two fingers leap high in the air bringing his weapon down hard. The blow was deflected by his opponent and the battle was on. Both sides ripped and tore at each other using their sharp teeth and hands to mutilate their enemy, they swung their crude weapons in strong hands crushing thick skulls and breaking limbs, they crashed into weakened stone pillars sending down tons of stone and killing those creatures un-lucking enough to be caught under them.

The battle raged on and on with both sides never giving up, then a lucky blow from Metal-face caught his enemy off balance and splintered his skull spewing out brains and blood in all directions. Now with their leader dead the remaining Scavengers gave up the fight and lowered their weapons, they stood their looking at the conqueror that raised his bloody arm and roared a challenge to any of them that cared to fight, but there was no defiance to his rule and the intruders became members of the victorious tribe.

With his leadership intact Metal-face lead the Scavengers out of the church and into the street, then he stood there sniffing the air then the ground, a faint order filled his nostrils, the scent of fresh meat, humans, and although the trail was cold there was still enough essence to tempt him so lifting his gore covered weapon as a signal to his followers the Scavengers began the search for Jon-29 and KT-7.

At last the final repairs to the composite tank were completed, it now sported two small weapons on its hull and new power cells in its energy compartment, there were also other upgrades in the different systems, the solar collectors had done their job and everything was functioning at a high level of efficiency. The Roach programs ordered that all Repair-bots cease their activities and return to their containers.

"Energy is at maximum level" Power reported.

"Replacement ordnances online" Weapons responded.

"Affirm" Mother said, "systems capacity recovered, commence search for command driver, sensors will scan for pheromone traces of Jon twenty nine".

It took several passes of the enhanced scanners before they detected a slight trace of the human, but it was enough to satisfy Mother, "Heading seven one nine, full locomotion power".

With a rumble the upgraded attack vehicle once more began its task of finding its lost command driver.

Inside the thick walled bunker Jon-29 and KT-7 were arguing.

"I will take command of the vehicle and select our heading!" the headstrong girl shouted.

"Neg" Jon said shaking his head, "I am a skilled and tested driver unit; I have more training experience then a Beast-rider".

But KT was quick with a reply, "have you ever driven a primitive combustion locomotion vehicle before?"

"Have you?" the young man asked.

"Well no, but this machine was built by my people and should be driven by one".

"A machine is a machine, I am a driver unit, I am trained to control machines therefore I should be the command driver".

"If you are a good driver why were you walking?" KT replied.

"That was not my fault; my machine was destroyed by the enemy".

Jon suddenly realized that he no longer considered the girl his enemy, this reversal of his training made him consider the fact that other parts of his conditioning might also be changed?

But before further analysis of his memory could begin KT spoke up.

"We shall negotiate, here are my terms, you will be the driver unit, I will decide on the correct vector of our advance and coordinate weapons, do you accept?"

The young man thought this over for a moment or two then held out his hand, "agreed".

"Done" the girl replied then once again spit on her hand sealing the bargain.

And as before Gripper responded, "Saliva on sensors!"

But this time Jon lifted his hand to his face, "Gripper, discontinue saliva program".

"Affirm" said the metal arm and quickly eliminated that database.

"Now if there are no further delays caused by weak-minded Coffin-drivers we can leave!" KT climbed into the back of the truck and sat in the command chair that controlled the multiple barreled defense weapons, there were no advanced sighting devices so she would have to rely on her vision and reflexes to find her target.

Jon-29 climbed into the control seat and began familiarizing himself with the primitive controls of the armored machine, as he did Fixer took the passenger seat and made himself ready for the journey.

"Do all females act that way after mating?" Jon asked his little companion.

"Yes" said the Pig-man, "they are programed that way".

Jon found the starter switch and the powerful engine roars to life, after a moment or two of grinding gears the young man finds the correct settings and pushes his foot down hard. The huge drive wheels at the back begin to spin and a cloud of smoke fills the chamber, then at last proper traction is acquired and the machine lurches forward.

KT holds on for dear life as the Land-master heads for a heavy metal door at the end of the bunker, the sensors that control entering and exiting barley have enough time to activate and raise the barrier. The heavy machine races upward through a corridor where another door opens and then they are in the open air.

The truck tilts, swerves and spins wildly as Jon tries to figure out the proper setting for control, luckily the exit door is far from the robotic guardian or they would have been attacked and blow into a million fragments. The heavy machine spins around and around in the street sending up a cloud of smoke from exhaust with KT screaming from the back.

"Reduce speed, you armor-butted, fuel-farting, Juice-jockey!!"

At last Jon finds the correct pedal and the machine comes to an abrupt stop.

KT takes a few moments to compose herself then leans forward in her chair, "you have overstated your driving skills, you're not a well-trained command diver!"

"Incorrect" Jon answered, "I was adjusting to the unfamiliar control system, now that I have full control you can give me a vector per out agreement".

"Make heading zero five north by seven, maintain a reduced rate of speed because the terrain will be uneven and watch out for Scavengers".

"Affirm, heading zero five north by seven," Jon repeated then check the primitive magnetic calculator on the trucks dashboard and when that was done he pushed his foot to the floor once more the heavy machine spun its wheel then raced down the vacant street with KT-7 shouting her disapproval at the top of her lungs.

Following the weak sent of her command driver Mother was still able to traverse the narrow avenues and approach the fortress of the Outlanders, when it was in an acceptable distance it stopped to reconnoiter.

"Tacking online" Mother reported, "driver unit has been in the area within the past twelve cycles, maintain course".

"Warning" Weapons reported, "enemy unit has also been detected, advise caution".

"Replacement energy is at eighty percent" Power added, "sufficient for limited attack program".

"Affirm" Mother replied, "We will advance with caution, all weapons on standby".

The two large metal claws on the sides of the tank moved into formation and opened wide to grasp any enemy within reach, the thick steel earth moving blade in the front angled itself to deflect any weapons fire striking it, at the same time the protective plates over the solar collectors closed preventing the disks from being destroyed.

Slowly the machine approached the underground bunker, as it did the Robot guardian activated; it lifted its weapon and began to target the oncoming tank.

"Halt!" it shouted, "advance and be recognized!"

"WARNING!" weapons shouted, "Enemy is targeting us, destruction imminent!"

There was no time to turn away, "ATTACK!" Mother commanded, and immediately all systems in the armored vehicle were forced on destroying the enemy.

The two small guns began to fire rapidly hitting their marks and damaging the huge statue, the steel giant didn't have the capability of movement because its feet were firmly fix to the platform it stood upon, but even with damage the metal figure returned fire.

A powerful energy blast struck the front of the tank but the heavy digging blade deflected most of the energy and the main body of the vehicle wasn't damaged.

"Direct hit on front armor" Weapons reported, "Returning fire".

"Energy is at seventy percent" Power said.

"Affirm" Mother replied, "advance and continue weapons fire".

The nearer the tank got the more damaged it sustained but it didn't turn and run, the sound of battle once again filled the silence of the city as the two behemoths attacked one another, any small rodent scurried away as the blasts from the two combatants rained down fire and steel. The energy weapon that the iron giant held in his hardened hands fired again and again but the thick armor of the enhanced tank held and although there was damage no vital circuitry was destroyed.

"Continue forward locomotion and weapons fire" Mother ordered.

"Affirm" Weapons replied.

Then it was Powers time to report in, "energy is at fifty percent and dropping, attack must end in two point one mid-cycles or there will be no reserve".

"Affirm" Mother acknowledged, "Continue forward".

The main controller had a vast amount of battle tactics stored in her memory cells, they covered a wide range of strategies, from direct attack to subversion, now faced with a dilemma Mother decided on the most efficient form of warfare so when the tank was within range of the enemy one of the giant claws reached out and grabbed the iron leg of the guardian.

"Channel all power to number one claw" Mother ordered.

"Affirm" and obeying her command Power transferred energy from locomotion and weapons to the huge gripping device, now with the added energy the claw squeezed hard and crumbled one leg support of the guardian. The weakened statue began to lean to one side but continued to fire it weapon, then with a deafening crash it fell to the ground and thrashed about like a dying creature.

"Discontinue power to number one claw" Mother commanded, "all power to locomotion".

"Affirm" Power said.

Now the heavy machine engines began to whine as it rolled over the fallen giant, back and forth it moved until its drive wheels trundled over the armored head, there was a spray of sparks then nothing.

"Enemy destroyed" Weapons reported".

"Affirm" Mother responded, "Roach".

"Online" the repair program reported.

"Commence temporary repairs and retrieve unusable materials from enemy mechanism".

"Affirm".

Now Mother returned to her primary concern, "scanners will search for command driver Jon twenty nine".

With the added strength taken from the salvaged fuel carrier the sensors were able to pick up the pheromone traces of the human far sooner than Mother expected, "driver found" the tiny voice from the scanner reported.

"Discontinue repairs" Mother ordered, "Priority one is to find and return command driver to this unit".

"Neg" Weapons said, "Adding energy weapon of the enemy will enhance or chances for victory".

"Override in effect, repeat priority one is to rescue Jon twenty nine all other concerns are secondary".

Now it was Powers time to comment, "along with pheromone traces the scanners have picked up carbon fuel emissions, driver has been captured by the enemy and should be considered terminated".

"Neg" Mothers voice sounded desperate, "Jon twenty nine is alive and all effort will be made to rescue him and return him to diver command...to me".

There was a pause as the main controller waited for Power and Weapons to counter her orders with arguments, but the two programs knew that Mothers override would prevail so they said nothing.

"Commence rescue of Jon twenty nine" she ordered.

And so the steel guardian was left still holding his weapon as the battle tank rumbled away, some would say that machines have a soul and if that were true then the ghost of the loyal defender would remain at his post and be ready in case a demon of the enemy rose up to challenge him.

The Commander of the huge Earthshaker had finally succumbed to fatigue, he now sat asleep in his control chair breathing hard and dreaming of destroying the enemy, his human leg twitched as did his arms but then he opened his eyes and bolted upright.

He didn't waste time with formalities and got straight to the point, "to we have full combat capacity?"

"Affirm AA one" a technician reported, "all systems online and functioning".

"Very well" the Captain said, "Full power to locomotion and all weapons on standby and make certain there are no snafus!"

And much to the delight of the Commander the huge machine began to move and there was no sign of a fault.

"Make heading six by three west" he said with a slight smile for he knew that this would take him to the other side of the enemy city and there he would continue his plan of attack.

Once more the massive machine began to move, and like before the ground shook and any creature in its way ran for cover or was crushed under its titanic drive wheels.

The heavy transport from the underground fortress raced down the rubble filled city streets swerving this way and that avoiding most of the fallen concrete and steel, what it didn't elude it smashed into fragments using its front protector guard and its massive weight and this seemed to amuse its fledgling driver.

"Reduce speed!" KT shouted from the back.

Jon was having too much fun to slow down but then the girl said something that made him reconsider her request.

"Reduce speed or there will be no further mating procedures!"

Jon put his heavy boot down hard on the brake and the transport came to a screeching halt. Steam began to pour from under the hood and Fixer jumps out of the cab mumbling under his breath, "stupid enemy Motor-jerker".

KT-7 unstraps herself from her gunner's seat and hurries down to confront Jon, "what's the mind-blank Race-runner, didn't we agree that I would be the one to set our speed at?"

"I was simply gathering information on maximum forward momentum and maneuvering characteristics".

KT shakes her head then takes a large assault rifle from the back and checks it for ammunition, then she hands it to Jon, "I take it that you know how to manipulate one of these?"

"Affirm, yes" the young man said, "I have been fully trained in the use of hand weapons of all types, but this one is substandard and should be replaced with a multi-phase plasma projector".

"At last we can agree on one thing, but we have what we have and my mother always told me not to shed tears for empty pockets".

The girl takes another large rifle from the carrier then Fixer returns from his evaluation of the trucks motor, "temporary repairs are being made to combustion engine but care should be taken by inexperienced drivers" and he turned to look Jon square in the eyes.

"How long until repairs are completed?" the girl asked.

"Minimal time" the little man responded.

"We're at the city perimeter" KT said as she looked around at the gutted structures, "beyond that next street and fortifications lie the Outlands, we shouldn't enter there this close to Sundeath there are too many...."

Her voice trailed off as her helmet began to make a "beeping" sound, turning her head slowly upwards KT was able to find the source of alarm. High above her she saw a great cloud of darkness, winged predators that she had encountered before.

"Nightwings!" she shouted pointing at mass of huge bats swirling in the darkening sky, "something has disturbed them; they never come out before night!"

Then both the girl and Jon see what has roused them from their sleep, down the street and heading their way is Metal-face and his minions, they are shouting and waving their weapons and it's easy to see that they are coming to kill them.

"Fixer, repair fast!" then KT turned to face the Scavengers, "Mother always said to face your enemy".

"So did mine" Jon-29 said as he leveled his combat rifle.

The Scavengers never slowdown in their attack, the scream like demons and saliva drips from their substantial jaws in anticipation of sinking them into human flesh, when they are within range Jon and KT open fire.

The combustion rifles send out a spray of projectiles and two of the rampaging mutants are cut down but the other use existing slabs of concrete and steel as shielding and manage to approach their prey without damage.

"Fixer, repair fast!" KT shouted above the sound of gunfire.

The little man didn't poke his head out from under the armored hood but from the profanities that he was uttering he was having problems.

"Comply you outmoded piece of fecal matter!"

Jon concentrated on the enemy, he was correct when he said that he was trained in hand arms but the ancient weapon didn't have self-sighting and that made his aim unsure. KT continues to fire then her ammunition is depleted and before she can reload the Scavengers are upon them.

Jon fires several more rounds killing one of the mutants then he takes the small pistol from its holster and takes aim, he fires at Metal-face but the bullets bounces off a steel plate on his wide chest and he is un-harmed, with a roar he falls on the young man.

The human is strong but the strength of the hunter is greater, but there is one thing that the young man has that the misshaped creature doesn't, a survival appendage.

"Gripper, blade!" Jon calls out.

"Affirm" the hand replies.

The long defense blade shoots out and penetrates the shoulder of Metal-face and he roars in pain, then Jon swings his metal hand across his face knocking him to the ground and leaving a deep cut in his face armor.

KT-7 was use to hand to hand fighting, from a very early age she was taught by her mother all the tactics and movements that would make up for her size, she leaped high in the air and brought her long spurs down hard cutting into the thick necks of the attackers and firing her pistol at point blank range.

One of the brutes attacks Fixer as he completes his repairs, but the little man knows how to take care of himself and strikes the taller creature in the leg with his heavy wrench breaking the kneecap and sending the monster to the ground.

"Repairs completed!" Fixer shouted as he scampered into the truck's cab and slams the armored door.

KT fights hard and climbs into the back of the vehicle while Jon moves to the driver's side, as he climbs in a Scavenger tried to grab him but he swings his arm-blade and cuts into the thick neck of the mutant severing his jugular vein and spraying him with blood. Now inside he starts the engine and turns to make sure that KT is safe aboard then hits the throttle and the truck roars away fast.

KT-7 hangs on as best she can as the truck accelerates, then she tries to strap herself in her weapons chair, but as she does she sees a horrible image rise up from the rear of the machine, Metal-Face managed to climb onto the back bumper before they took off and now he is trying to reach her. KT turns the huge weapon around pointing the barrels downward as best she can, she pulls the trigger and the weapons spews out a rain of death, but the angle is wrong and the mutant continues to rise up, the girl takes her knife from her side and moves forward, Metal-faces eyes are filled with hate and hunger but this give the young girl a target and summoning up all her remaining strength she drives the thick blade into the eye socket of the mutant and it screams in pain, she twists the blade hard them pulls it free, with blood streaming from its wound the scrounger falls off the back of the truck and into the street. Now free of attackers the armored vehicle continues down the street at a high rate of speed.

But they are not out of danger yet.

A short distance away Jon's attack machine rumbles along a narrow avenue.

"Weapons fire at heading six one" Mother reported.

"Affirm" the small voice of the scanner replied.

"Confirming discharge of primitive ordinance" Weapons added.

"Make heading to intercept" the main controller commanded.

"Energy is at seventy percent and holding" Power reported.

The huge machine turned to the correct heading crushing the skeleton of a long dead Komodo beast under its heavy treads.

In the sky above the moving truck the Nightwings have detected the odor of blood, and as the sun disappears they begin to dive down to feast on their favorite food.

"Increase speed!" KT shouted at seeing the cloud of death falling from the heavens, "we must find shelter", the Outlander shifted the levels on her control seat and the multi-barreled weapon pointed directly at the huge bats, when she was confident of her target KT pulled the trigger. The heavy vehicle began to shake from the rattle of the powerful gun, bullets spit out in the hundreds and their shell casing clattered on the metal bed of the truck.

Jon drove as fast as he could missing the rusting hulks of battle tanks and war-machines by inches, now and then the street was lifted up by a fracture and the vehicle became airborne for a moment or two then slammed to the ground jarring all aboard.

"What is my vector?" Jon shouted to KT in the back, but she couldn't hear his words above the deafening roar of the machine gun so he turned to his companion, "do you know what directional coordinates we should take?"

Holding on for his life the little man turned to look at the driver, "away from here!"

KT continued to fire at the deadly creatures then her ammunition was depleted and several of the huge winged blood suckers began to tear at the truck with razor sharp claws, the girl tried to drive them off with her knife killing one by cutting its throat and maiming another's wing so that it fell to the ground. Then looking around she spotted the great wall that surrounded a portion of the city, there she saw a tunnel entrance.

"Make heading to that tunnel!" she shouted to Jon and seeing the passageway he turned the wheel and headed straight for it.

The Nightwings continued to attack the truck even as they entered the shaft, and KT knew that they wouldn't give up the chase until they had tasted blood, but thinking fast she spotted a large fuel container at the back of the truck and bracing her legs against the sky-fire gun she managed to push the heavy drum off the bed and onto the tunnel floor, then reloading her pistol with a single shot she took careful aim and pulled the trigger.

The fuel drum exploded in flames filling the corridor with fire and smoke and destroying the remaining bats in a holocaust of death, but the flames were about to consume the truck and all its contents in a matter of seconds.

"Maximum speed!" KT screamed then made a very short prayer to the Goddess asking for more forward velocity.

The truck crashed through the steel gate at the end of the tunnel and speeded away as fast as it could go leaving the crumbling city far behind and disappearing into the night.

"Combustion fuel explosion detected coinciding with detection of driver unit" Mother reported, "maximum locomotion to point of destruction".

"We must discontinue operations in seven point nine time periods" Power interjected, "solar power has been eliminated and replacement energy cells are decreasing rapidly".

"Affirm, but we will continue search until energy is at minimum level".

"Weapons will not function at minimum level" Weapons said "we should seek shelter and wait until solar power can resume".

"Neg" Mother ordered, "We will continue forward".

The armor plating slowly covered the solar collectors so that they would not be damaged and the heavy machine continued to the point of origin of the explosion.

Some distance away from the great wall of the city the heavy transport came to a halt, once more smoke and steam poured out from under the hood and like before Fixer got out and climb up to the hood.

"I speak, they don't hear" the little man grumbled as he began to tinker with the machinery.

With the smoking truck stopped Jon and KT moved a few meter away and looked around, there wasn't much light from the night moon but it was enough to show them that the landscape was empty of life, here and there a piece of war wreckage was outlined in the dim light but nothing else, it was a land devastated by battle.

The pair had scrapes and cuts but not enough to warrant a great deal of medical care, but KT-7 reached into her supply pouch and took out a small bottle and began to spray it over Jon and herself, "Scavengers are a filthy race but this should help with infections".

But when the mist touched Jon's metal hand Grippers responded, "Caution, disinfectant analysis results report that this substance is made up of mostly organic materials and animal urine".

"Affirm" Jon said.

"There will be no resupplying here" KT said as she put the sprayer back in her pouch, "but there will also be no pursuit, even Scavengers fear the Outlands".

"Affirm" the young man said trying to wipe some of the caked blood off his uniform, "you proved to be an adequate weapons handler".

"Thank you" the girl said.

"Thank you?" Jon didn't understand the meaning of those words, "what meaning does thank you have?"

"Thank you? That is a term my mother taught me, it's a signifier of gratitude to a friend or comrade".

In the past few days Jon had been hearing many words that he never heard before, "peace", "truce" and now "thank you" added to the fact that an enemy had saved his life and even mated with him, he tried to follow his training but that had proven useless so he saw no need to reject the words of his companion.

"Affirm, yes, we are friends and comrades" he said with a smile, "thank you".

Jon-29 was about to try to initiate mating procedures and it appeared that KT was willing to oblige when Fixer reported back on his repairs, "I have performed field repairs on the combustion engine, but full maintenance is required and terminal failure may accrue at any time".

"Understood" the girl replied then turned to her companion, "you cannot damage the vehicle further with your sub-standard driving skills".

"Perhaps you should command drive?" Jon said smiling.

"My skills are required as navigator and gunner; you have proven inadequate in those areas", KT said then looked at the stars, took a heading and pointed, "we will continue that way", and saying nothing more she climbed back into her gunners seat.

Jon and Fixer got into the armored cab and then Jon looked at the little Coshinoid, "have you ever mated?" The little creature shook his head, "you are lucky, the procedures are simply but the results are complicated".

Jon-29 started the engine and put it in gear.

"She is good at killing the enemy" Fixer said, "I am good at repairing; you are good at breaking things".

Jon could find no fault with this logic so he adjusted his vector and stepped on the floor pedal and the Land-master slowly vanished into the vastness of the Outlands.

Mother was eager to find her lost child so when she arrived at the last known position of Jon-29 she reached out with the scanners trying to find any trace of her command driver, but the intense fire in the tunnel had eliminated any traces of the human and therefore tracking was impossible.

"Human remains not found" the little scanner voice reported.

"Continue search" Mother ordered.

But Power reported otherwise, "search not possible, energy levels at minimum".

There was no denying the fact that there was simply not enough power to continue searching for Jon-29, but Mother wasn't about to end her quest, "prepare to send out scouts and Repair-bots to locate any materials that might locate driver unit".

The main controller knew that the Repair-bots and scouts could move independently with their own power cells and that might be enough to find some evidence of her child, so the small mechanical detectives were sent out along with the larger service droids, they began their exploration with small LED lights and sensitive feelers. After a short time they reported back that they had found shell casings, composite rubber tire tracks, and one terminated Scavenger with a metal plate covering its face.

"tracks are those of a vehicle that departed at a high rate of speed" Mother reported, analysis of atmospheric emissions indicate a primitive combustion machine has passed this point within a short time period, pheromone traces are identical with command driver Jon twenty nine, conclusion Jon twenty nine is a prisoner of the enemy units".

"Neg" Weapons responded, "There are alternative answers to findings".

But Mother couldn't be swayed, "alternatives un-necessary, we will continue operations for rescue of diver unit".

Now it was Powers time to report, "Energy is not at a level that would insure a victory if attacked, advise waiting until solar collectors are available".

"Concur" Weapons added, "systems report only fourteen mega-joules stored in energy cells insufficient for a nighttime operation".

After a time Mother logic circuits could find no fault with this information so she decided on an alternate plan, "Repair-bots will bring the Scavengers body to my interior for analysis".

Quickly the machines began to swarm over the lifeless corpse, they gathers underneath it and lifted it up from the blood stained pavement, with skittering crab-like motions they carried the dead Scavenger inside the waiting battle tank. Once inside they laid the mangled remains on the command chair that had been leveled to accept it, when that was completed the worker androids returned to their containers.

"Scan life form" Mother ordered.

A small display monitor flicker to life as a shaft of light began to move over the mutant body, after a few moments the results showed on the screen.

"Creature is humanoid" Mother stated, "genetically altered bone and muscle structures indicates this being to be a second level enemy combatant, designation Scavenger".

"Concur" Weapons had destroyed many of these lower life forms in the course of combat, he found them to be difficult to kill and ill-logical in their battle tactics, "this creature should be removed from interior".

But Mother had other plans for the dead body, "Neg, this creature may have pertinent knowledge of command driver, we will commence repair and reanimation".

Hearing that they would have a live enemy combatant inside their perimeter Weapons was quick to respond, "Neg! Scavengers are strong, unpredictable creatures, their neural connections are erratic, they can cause great damage to working programs, recommend immediate removal of corpse!"

"Neg, precautions will be taken" Mother said.

The restraining straps the once held Jon-29 in his seat now fixed themselves to the lifeless body of the humanoid, then they were secured Mother proceeded to the next level of her plan, "commence repair and reanimation".

the reconstructed battle tank didn't have sufficient resources for a full restoration of the Scavengers body so the medical repair-bots did what they could to savage the humanoid, first they removed organic debris and metal fragments from the torso and sealed up any wounds, the left leg had been shattered in the fall from the moving truck but that was replaced with a mechanical limb. Next they replaced the metal covering on the face with synthetic Pasti-flesh, the bone structure of the creature was more massive than that of a human but there were still enough similarities so the small repairers formed a likeness that they already had in their programing, the face of Jon-29.

With that completed an umbilical cord was attached to the abdomen and fluids pumped in to replace those that were lost, finally several interfaces were driven into the thick skull and implanted in the substandard brain, then with their work completed they disappeared back to their holding bays.

"Repairs to body have been completed" Mother said, "Reanimation will commence".

There was a loud "snap" of electricity and the lifeless body jerks in its restraining straps then lay still.

"Ineffective" Mother reported, "Ready level two and reanimate".

Again there was a jerk from the body and a smell of burning flesh, the newly repaired face contorts violently then the eyes of the Scavenger open, immediately the creature begins to struggles against the bonds that were holding him.

"What is the location of driver unit Jon twenty nine?" Mother asked.

But the main controller got no response from the humanoid other than a loud roar of defiance and more struggling.

"Repeat, what is the location of Jon-29?" And like before the Scavenger only howled and pulled harder, at last Mother was forced to discontinue her interrogation. "Oral processing of sub-human unit none effective, initiate direct core memory access".

Two mechanical arms emerged from the sides of the command chair and firmly grasp the sub-human holding it steady, then another device rose up from the top of the chair, this one had a drill bit mechanism at the end with several attached barbs, the Scavengers face contorts as the probe inters his skull then his mind.

"Initiate memory scan" Mother ordered, and after a moment or two a faint holographic images appears above the head of the beast man, the image is distorted and vague, "increase memory probe" quickly more tendrils from the end of the mechanism fan out inside the retention lobes of the creature, they are programed to find useable information and transfer it to the imager, soon the distortion disappear. But what follows are disconnected pictures of hunting and killing, rival Scavengers being destroyed and other images from the past life of the humanoid.

"Disregard information not related to diver unit Jon twenty nine" Mother ordered. Soon the depictions showed Jon fighting side by side with the enemy.

Weapons was the first to comment on this newly acquired information, "driver unit has been compromised, he is now aiding the enemy, he should be considered a defector!"

But Mother was quick to defend her child, "Neg, sub-optimal conclusion, inadequate data set, situation is unclear".

"Data is clear, there can be no mistake" Weapons demanded, "Jon twenty nine is now an enemy unit!"

"Neg!" Mother demanded and then the images disappeared leaving only the Scavenger fighting his captivity, "additional information is required, we will proceed with rescue of Jon twenty nine at Sunbirth".

Now it was Powers time to speak, "what is the disposition of sub-human?"

"Interrogation subject will remain in chair, his consciousness will be put into coma freeze until needed".

"Unwise" Weapons said, "Repeat sub-human is a threat to the functions of this unit, he should be terminated immediately".

"Neg, this creature may have additional information that could be of use to the rescue and return of diver unit, he will remain in place", there was a pause as the lights begin to dim in the control room, "we will now shut down all unnecessary programs and wait until solar collectors can be initiated".

One by one the other programs shut down, the readout screen went dark and there was only a small glimmer of light in the chamber, it cast a soft glow on the Scavenger revealing it twisting and turning in his binders then its movements slowed and stopped, the yellow eyes shut and it lay still.

Mother didn't shut down, she remained online and gazed at the repaired sub-human, it was taller and more heavily built then her child but now it carried the face of the one she searched for.

In the dark loneliness of the Outlands a tiny flicker of life shown out like a small star in an otherwise empty sand covered landscape, around it sat two humans and a small pig like creature.

"You are incorrect" Jon said as he chewed a mouthful of rations, "replacements do not emerge from females".

"You're the one in error Slack-brain" KT replied taking at drink of water from a plastic container and wishing it was Fire-brew.

The pair sat before a small survival fire pod and leaned against the huge tires of the weapons truck, their projectile guns lay within reach but they have removed their supply belts and hand weapons, but KT kept her long survival knife strapped to her leg. Near them Fixer stuffed his dripping mouth with handfuls of rations mixed with a small sand dragon that he had caught, the small reptile was tuff and scaly but that didn't seem to matter to the ravenous appetite of the Pig-man.

"Not possible" the young man said, "replacements are constructed in crèche incubators by skilled technicians, this is followed by a regimen of training and indoctrination inside mother units, you have the basic procedure backwards".

KT-7 laughs loudly and slaps her leg, "your information on reproduction is as sub-standard as your diver skills".

"It is you who is incorrect" Jon said taking another mouthful of dried food, "you will see that I am well informed".

KT shook her head then looked over at Fixer who was opening yet another box of rations, "what do you think about his statements" she asked the little man.

"I think his head is broken" was the reply.

Nothing more was said for at time and they all ate their fill, then when Fixer had stuffed his belly with enough food rations to satisfy two warriors he laid on the sandy ground near the fire and quickly went to sleep. KT and Jon continued to sit for a time and then the young man asked a question.

"Back when you performed the ritual for your comrade you mentioned an afterlife and something about a Goddess, what are the meanings of those words?"

"The Afterlife is a place where we go when we die" KT-7 answered, "and that territory is governed by a deity called the Goddess, she cares for us and we live in harmony for all time, unless we are attacked that is".

Hearing such things as an Afterlife and a female ruler made Jon doubt the sanity of his companion, "I have died many times and so have you and I have never seen this place".

"If you die and are reanimated you're not really dead, that's comes when you cannot be repaired and your body is scrapped" the girl said confidently, "besides enemies don't go to the Afterlife".

"Where do they go?" Jon asked.

"They go to a place filled with fire and pain and they must fight for their lives all the time and that place is called the land of damnation".

"If your body is scrapped how can a person survive in another place?"

"You don't use your flesh-body" the girl laughed "your Inner-shadow takes its place".

"Inner-shadow?" Jon had never heard this phrase before, "what is an Inner-shadow?"

"Your Inner-shadow lives inside you and comes out when you no longer reanimate".

Jon considered the words of the girl carefully and they all seemed very strange to him for he never had to think about anything other than battle tactics, weapons trajectories and optimum use of attack patterns. But now his mind was filled with ideas about afterlives, all powerful deities and enemies that become friends, inner-shadows and a thousand other concepts that went against his programing.

"Enough!" he shouted and rose to his feet, "you are the enemy, you are incorrect!" then he walked off into the darkness to clear his head.

KT-7 watched him go, "it's you who's made a mistake!" she shouted after him, "I should have known better than to try and put wisdom into the head of a frail-brained invader!"

Jon continued to walk for a time then he found the remains of a long dead Komodo beast and its rider, in the moonlight he could see the fleshless skull, massive leg bones and ribs of the huge creature jutting out of the sand, there was also the skeleton of the monsters driver sitting in a worn saddle, it still clutched the handle of the ancient forward facing weapon, its thin finger still wrapped around the trigger. Nearby was the rusting hulk of a battle tank, there was a huge hole in the side of its armor plating and the main weapon was twisted like at fang-snake, it was easy to see that the two had destroyed each other in a long ago conflict and now all that remained were two forgotten relics.

Jon-29 sat down on a broken fragment of steel and looked up at the night sky, but to him they were only a collection of navigational settings that could be used in case of damage to tri-level tracking. Now with no one to talk to he lifted his hand to his face.

"Gripper?"

"Online".

"What transpires when a command driver no longer reanimates?" he asked.

"I am not programed for that query, I can grip, help in healing, analyze and wipe fecal matter from anus" the arm replied.

Jon-29 sat there for a few moments then put his metal finger against his head, "analyze" he said.

It only took a short time before his metal arm had the result of his inquirers, "substance is human flesh layered over bone and internal organs, edible but recommend alternatives".

"Nothing more?" he asked.

"Nothing more" Gripper replied.

Jon-29 knew that the analysis program of a replacement arm is very detailed and if it couldn't find any trace of an Inner-shadow it must not exist, he pondered this for a time then Gripper sounded the alarm.

"Enemy within perimeter!"

Jon jumped to his feet, "Gripper, blade!"

"Affirm".

His arm blade shot out, but then he lowered his weapon after seeing KT-7 approaching and the attack weapon withdrew, "Gripper, discontinue warnings of female designated as KT seven".

"Removing warning program for female" the arm replied.

The young girl walked over and sat down near Jon, she didn't speak for a time and just gazed up at the night sky, then she turn to her companion, "you never asked me what our final destination will be".

"I assumed you were returning to your base of operations and your people".

"Incorrect" KT said shaking her head, "my tribe is gone, my unit was the last of the Komodo riders, I'm alone", it had been a very long while since the young girl had shed a tear in sorrow, the last time was when she buried her mother but now her eyes began to well up and her voice was shaky, "when we first met I wanted to kill you but I couldn't, now I don't want you to leave, I don't want to be alone". KT-7 moved close to Jon and put her arms around him and kissed him for a long time and then they parted.

"Mating procedures?" Jon asked.

KT smiled and kissed him again and then Gripper's alarm went off again.

"Enemy within perimeter!"

Jon was angry that his orders to discontinue that program hadn't been obeyed. "Repeat, remove warning program for female" he commanded thinking it there was a problem with the mechanical appendages programing, but he was wrong.

"Enemy is not female!" the arm replied.

Suddenly the ground under their feet began to move and an instant later a large wedge shaped head rose up from the sand, it was covered in hard scales and had a long neck as thick as a man's torso, it opened its reptilian jaws showing rows of razor sharp teeth.

"Sand-dragon!" KT screamed jumping up and drawing her knife; Jon lifted his arm, "Gripper, blade!" But before the metal hand could reply Jon was fighting for his life.

In a matter of seconds the huge creature emerged from the ground and in the pale moonlight its scale covered body glimmered like jewel-fish in a clear pond.

KT-7 and Jon-29 were once more fighting side by side, their enemy was a creature created by humans in a laboratory, made to attack from underground and kill anything that comes within its snapping jaws and clawed feet. Jon dodged the gaping mouth with a lightening like move and swung his arm blade with all his might striking the monster on its snake-like neck, but the thick scales of the beast deflected the blow. Now it was KT's turn to attack, she had encountered these fearless creatures before and knew that their armor like hide was almost impossible to penetrate so she jumped clear of its whipping tail and then jumped on the monsters back, she dug her spurs into the sides of the creature and struck again and again with her razor sharp weapon hoping to find a gap in the armor plating but the underground beast shook itself hard and KT was thrown thru the air landing hard on the sand, the wind was knocked out of her for a moment or two then she picked herself up on one knee and shouted to Jon.

"The mouth! She cried out, "weakness in mouth".

Dodging another strike Jon could see that the huge tooth aperture of the monster was its only vulnerable spot so digging his boots into the soft sand he lifted his arm and waited for the beast to attack, and it did, it opened its jaws as wide as it could and lunged forward. Jon's aim was true and the sharp blade on his mechanical arm ripped into the upper palette and out thru the skull of the Sand-dragon, the massive jaws snapped shut on Jon's arm sending out a shower of sparks and damaging the replacement device. The creature whipped its head from side to side almost tearing off the young man's arm but finally it let go of its prey and Jon fell to the ground then with a few more jerks and thrashes of its tail the monster finally laid still.

KT-7 rushed to Jon's side and looked down to see his steel arm covered in the greenish blood of the beast but other than a few cuts and bruises he was unhurt, she bend down and held him in her arms and kissed him over and over on the face and lips, despite his wounds and exhaustion Jon look at her and smiled.

"Mating procedures?" Jon asked.

Chapter 5.

Reunions.

It's a well-known fact that time passes in precise intervals for machines, the days, hours; seconds are always exact units in the space time continuum without deviation so making a statement the (night passed slowly for Mother) wouldn't have any meaning. But never the less she was impatient to resume the search and bring her missing child home.

"All superior systems report" the main controller ordered.

"Weapons online".

"Power online".

"Affirm" Mother replied, "Solar collectors online and energy cells charging, we will now follow last known heading of combustion machine, enter tunnel and resume rescue of Jon twenty nine".

But Weapons still had doubts about the presence of the Scavenger, "advise total elimination of sub-human, it is dangerous".

"Neg, it will remain in coma freeze for now, engage engines!"

And with the sun shining brightly the heavy machine entered the dark passageway.

Some distance beyond the great wall Fixer was busy repairing the damage to Jon's replacement arm, he sat near the armored truck exchanging broken circuits with compatible programing chips and munching on handfuls of morning rations.

"The grasping force of your digits is very strong" the little man commented.

"Affirm" Gripper replied, "but you are not a certified repair-tec and should not have access to my inner workings" and the mechanical arm closed his fist hard.

"YAAAAAAEEEE!" the Pig-man howled as his finger was caught in a vice-like grip, and swinging his arm hard he tossed the damaged mechanism high in the air and it landed at the feet of Jon-29.

Jon and KT were busy reloading the multi-barreled gun on the back of the truck and although Jon was doing what he could his efforts proved to be limited.

"You are not restored yet" the one armed man said picking up the mechanical device from the soft sand, "Fixer will repair you".

"That creature is not rated for repairs on my inner workings, he is one of the enemy and they are not qualified".

KT-7 lifted a heavy box of ammunition on the vehicle and listened to every rude word the arm had spoken, "I'll have you know that we may be your enemy but we are more than qualified to repair a primitive sub-programed addition like you!"

This remark seemed to set off an argument between the human female and the damaged appendage.

"I am a superior programed replacement device that can grip, help in healing, analyze and wipe fecal matter from an anus!" the arm said proudly.

But these remarks only seemed to amuse the girl, "wipe fecal matter?" she laughed then turned to Jon "you better let Fixer do his work before you have to squat-sit and this scrap-mash grabs your Bucking tool".

"I am programed to know the different areas of my carrier and will not be gripping...."

The little Pig-man reached up and pressed a small button on the arm shutting down all its power and ending the argument, then he took the arm from Jon, "I will fix" he said and walked away.

Jon-29 and KT-7 went back to stocking the Land-master and after a few short cycles the gun was loaded and everything was ready for the journey ahead.

"What will be our vector?" Jon enquired.

"I cannot go home and you have been expended" she said, "our best chances for survival will be in Lands-End", then she looked around at the terrain, "from the stories my mother told me it's somewhere beyond the great chasm and passed the mountains of Kardon, that way" and she pointed to a faint image on the horizon.

"Then I shall command drive, and you shall set vectors and target weapons".

"Agreed" KT said and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"Mating procedures?" Jon asked hoping that there might be a repeat of the night before.

But the girl shook her head, "I have to admit that your techniques are improving but we don't have time for further practice right now", then she climbed into the back of the truck and began to strap herself into the weapons command chair.

Jon moved around to the cab door, opened it with his good hand and sat behind the driver's wheel; he looked over to see Fixer completing repairs on his arm.

"I fix good" the little man said and handed the metal appendage to Jon, who quickly attached it to his elbow and pressed the power button.

With a "snap" of electricity Gripper was online ".....organic parts causing damage!" then the arm realized that he had been turned off in mid-sentence and the argument was no longer an issue, "Online" it said.

Jon opened and closed his repaired hand several time to make sure that it was working as it should and when he was satisfied he turned to his little companion, "your repair programing is very efficient".

"Yes, I fix good".

Jon started the engine and pressed his booted foot to the floor hard and the heavy weapons transport roared off in a cloud of sand and dust.

The scanners that relayed information to Mother had no problem tracking the vehicle that held Jon-29, not only were there traces of human pheromones and residue of a combustion engine in the air the soft sand beyond the great wall showed deep markings from the treads of the heavy machine, now with the hot sun bathing the solar collectors in energy and the power cells working at top efficiency the repaired battle tank moved rapidly forward.

"All systems report" Mother ordered.

"Energy is at eighty five percent and holding" Power reported.

"Replacement weapons online" Weapons added.

"Affirm" Mother said.

With the long-range sensors still not repaired it was impossible to tell what lay beyond the next sandy rise but that didn't matter to the main controller, she would move ever forward with one thing looping thru her programing, to find her command driver, to find her lost son.

Some distance ahead the heavy truck was moving fast, the landscape had turned from soft sand to hard ground which made traction more stable, there were also remnants of destroyed battle tanks, Komodo and other weapons of war, and along with those smaller attack vehicles was a huge Delta-1 destroyer. The enormous machine wasn't as large as an Earthshaker by any means but it had powerful weapons and sophisticated programing, there was a single large hole in the main control section indicating a lucky hit by the enemy, it also meant that most of its inner workings might be intact. But the terrain was also covered with a great herd of large scaly creatures that KT-7 knew well.

"Rimorgar" she said lifting the sand visor on her combat helmet, and then when she was sure of her vision she shouted to Jon, "halt!"

Jon stepped on the brakes and the truck came to a sudden stop almost sending the sleeping Fixer into the dashboard, Jon looked out the dirty windscreen to see hundreds of large six legged creatures grazing on scrub brush and low vegetation, they had thick armor-like scales over much of their huge bodies and horned heads, they resembled the Komodo of the Outriders but these monsters were twice that size and had none of the tamable attributes of their smaller brothers.

KT moved down from the back and stood beside the armored cab of the truck, "keep all noise to a minimum and proceed forward at a very low rate of speed".

But Jon-29 wasn't used to obstacles in his way, when he was a command driver of an attack vehicle he would simply destroy or run over anything that blocked his path, "these are animals, we have power and weapons, we are superior".

"Brain work this Steel-bottom" KT said, "you may kill one or two perhaps more but they will attack and their horns can penetrate steel".

Jon thought this over for a moment or two as he gazed at the size of the creatures around him and their huge defensive horns, "I will do as you say, we will proceed at a very low rate of speed".

KT smiled and returned to her chair, Jon pressed lightly on the fuel pedal and the heavy truck slowly moved forward, when it got within a meter or so of the Rimorgar one of the huge beasts lifted it great head and moved to meet this strange metal intruder, its thick nose horn bumped the front of the truck and then scraped along its surface, the wide nostrils of the creature drew in several lungful's of combustion odor then the beast gave out with a long bellow.

KT-7 trained her multi-gun on the huge head of the six legged monster and made herself ready in case they had to fight, at the same time she asked the Goddess to forgive her past sins and if she wasn't too occupied perhaps she could aid them?

Satisfied that there was no threat the armored beast bellowed once more then turned away and went back to its feeding, Jon pressed his foot down ever so slowly and the truck moved into the huge herd. Fixer crouched down low in the cab and gripped his small pistol for comfort, we would rather have one of the large assault weapons but his small frame wouldn't be able to handle the recoil, now and then one of the Rimorgar great horns would bang against the armor of the truck but luck was on their side and after what seemed like forever Jon, KT and Fixer emerged unhurt from the massive herd. Jon didn't waste time when he saw that they were safe and pressed his foot down hard and watched with a smile as the danger faded behind them.

The great Earthshaker that was once the home base of Jon-29 didn't stop for any creature large or small, it rolled forward destroying what little remained of pass civilizations and continued on the path set by its commandant.

That leader paced back and forth on his metal leg looking over the shoulders of his command crew to see if there were any discrepancies in their reports, the Technicians cringed every time

they heard the "clank, clank" of their Commanders metal foot on the hard floor near them, and it was certain that they check and double checked their readout screens to make sure they wouldn't end up in food supply.

"Are we still on a heading west?" asked the one legged officer.

"Affirm AA one" a technician said, "heading is six nine one west".

"Very good" the Commander commented, "are there any readings on long-range scanners?"

The person in charge of that section spoke up, "scanners detect one small combustion vehicle and one large mechanism, but its configuration doesn't match any known design".

Ordinarily the Commander would ignore targets as small as the ones reported but the idea that there might be some kind of new machine that could be a threat to his power made him reconsider, "make heading to intercept new targets" he ordered.

And it was only a matter of seconds before the huge machine turned to a new heading and rolled forward.

It was late in the afternoon and the wind was beginning to blow hard when KT called out to Jon to stop the truck.

"Halt!" she shouted then when the heavy transport came to a full stop she got down and stood looking out as Jon and Fixer joined her, "we need a rest break" she said.

"I am not tired" Jon replied.

"Neither am I but I need to...." She made a squatting motion hoping that Jon would understand the meaning of "rest stop".

But the young man didn't seem to understand this simple gesture, "you want to sit down, but you were already sitting down?"

Frustrated the girl shook her head, "I know I was sitting thick-skull, I need to...leak!"

It took a moment or two for her words to register with Jon, normally all bodily waste would have been taken care of by his bio-suit and command chair but now he was a foot walker and had to see to those biological matters himself.

"Affirm, yes" Jon finally replied, "I think it is time we both had rest stop".

"I will take the back and you will take the front" KT suggested.

Jon-29 didn't understand why they should split their forces but he nodded his head in approval and moved to the front of the vehicle and began to remove his pants, when he was ready he squatted down and let nature take its course, then when he was finished he spoke, "Gripper wipe".

"Affirm" the hand replied and sprayed a substance from his third digit; the fine mist dissolved all traces of fecal matter in seconds.

"Thank you" Jon said pulling up his coverings.

"I told you I could grip, analyze and wipe fecal matter" Gripper reported.

A short time later KT-7 had also completed her ritual, "we should keep going that way then we can...." She stopped short when she noticed puffs of dust rising up in the distance, "what is that?" there was no wind to speak of and the sky was empty of most clouds so she knew it wasn't made by nature, "it could be a sand-dragon or an enemy, make heading for that formation".

"We should set our vector to avoid something we do not have information on" Jon advised.

"It is always better to face an enemy then run or are you afraid?" the girl asked.

"Neg, no, I have never run from a battle" the young man said confidently.

"Then we will go that way".

Jon and Fixer climbed into their positions in the front of the vehicle but this time this time KT-7 didn't return to her chair, rather she stepped up to a foot hold on the side of the cab and held on to a hand grip, "you're the command driver" looking at Jon, "so drive", a turn of a switch, a foot to the floor and they were off again.

The Land-master headed up a slight rise then down the other side then up a higher one where a group of recently destroyed vehicle sit in burned out fragments a clear indication that a battle had taken place here and that both sides had lost.

"Halt!" KT shouted, and the truck came to a fast stop, looking forward the companions saw what was making the dust cloud.

There just a few meters away they saw a figure racing around and around in a circle, it was humanoid and had large muscular legs covered in armor plating, and a targeting helmet on its head that emitted a loud "beeping" sound, a cloud of dust rose up behind it as its feet struck the ground making a loud buzzing sound, on its back was a large war-pack attached to a sensor on its chest, now it was Jon's turn to show his knowledge.

"Runner" he said, "he must have malfunctioned and is now caught in a command loop".

KT-7 had encounter these fast moving weapons before, "he's dangerous, we should terminate him" and she hoped down and took her assault rifle from the back of the truck and check to make sure it was working properly, she was about to take aim when Jon stopped her.

"This Runner was created to be a weapon like me" Jon said, "He deserves a warrior's death".

The young man moved forward until he was very near the genetically altered human, he watched it racing around and around then as it began to pass him he shouted as loud as he could.

"Command halt!" but the malfunctioning Runner continued on his endless race, so the next time it passed Jon shouted again, "command halt one!" but he was ignored, "this Runner has sustained damage to his tracking and is locked in a holding program and is unable to break the pattern" he said turning to KT-7.

"He's dangerous" KT replied, "He should be terminated".

Frustrated with his efforts Jon picked up a long piece of steel lying on the ground and waited for the humanoid to come around again, this time he forced the fragment in the path of the Runner and caught him on his armored legs, with a loud thump the racing man fell to the ground but his legs continued to move at a fantastic rate.

Jon immediately jumped on top of him trying to hold him down, "help is needed" he shouts.

KT dropped her weapon and she and Fixer rush to Jon's aid, Fixer grabs one of the powerful flailing legs of the racer and holds on with all his strength, KT tried to remove the back-pack but it's held on with strong straps, "I can't get it loose!" she shouts.

"Remove its targeting helmet" Jon said as his mechanical hand gripped the other thrashing leg.

KT pulls her knife and cuts the holding strap under the chin of the runner and lifts off the targeting device, immediately the legs stop moving and the mutant man lays unmoving but breathing hard, after a moment or two the trio lets go of the mutant man, they sit back on the ground breathing hard.

"Now what do we do with him?" KT asked between gasps.

"Life forms directly ahead" the scanner reported to Mother, "estimate a hundred or more large reptilian creatures blocking our vector".

"Understood" Mother replied, "Do they have weapons?"

"Neg" reported Weapons, "they are only primitive creatures and pose no danger to this unit".

"Energy is at eighty percent and holding" Power reported.

"Then we will continue forward and if we are challenged we will destroy them".

The Scavenger that lay unconscious in coma-freeze couldn't speak or move in any way but if he could have he would have turned and run away for his kind have an ability to sense danger that they cannot overcome, but machines have no such capability and rely on data that can prove fatal.

Without slowing the huge war-machine approached the herd of Rimorgar and as it did the mammoth beasts turn to meet this strange intruder, with loud bellows that filled the air the armored plated creatures attacked!

"Attack in progress!" Weapons reported, "Engaging all defensive weapons".

"Affirm" Mother replied, "channel all energy to defense and destroy the enemy!"

"All energy to weapons" Power said.

The great claws began to open and close and the heavy blade at the front rose up to add its armor to the front, the two energy weapons taken from the Builder began to target then the armored vehicle was hit hard.

"Damage to forward armor" Weapons reported, "Returning fire".

Locked on their targets the two guns began to discharge a beam of focused energy, the thin shaft of burning light penetrated the thick skull of one of the Rimorgar and killed it instantly, the other weapon did the same but for every beast they destroyed two took their place.

Once again the tank was hit hard.

"Damage to number two drive motor" Weapons reported, "Enemies head protuberances are penetrating our armor.

"Understood" Mother responded, "Continue attack!"

With the wind continuing to raise the Rimorgar closed in around the metal monster and rammed their horns into its sides cutting into the thick armor plating and into the control mechanisms underneath.

"Damage to forward drive!" Weapons called out, "continuing attack"

The great claws reached out and ceased a two of the creatures and lifted them high in the air, and then as they bellowed and roared the grippers closed around their thick armored bodies and cut them in two, they fell to the ground amounts their kind but the beasts didn't run they only fought harder.

"Energy is draining" Power reported "enemy is strong".

"We are stronger!" but Mother understood that her resources were limited while the enemy had almost boundless replacements.

The damage to the tank continued as did the destruction of the creatures; soon there was a mass of dead and dying Rimorgar around the bloodstained machine. Then one of the huge beasts climb upon one of the dead, raised up on its hind legs and crashed down on the solar collectors crushing them under its massive weight.

"Damage to solar collectors" Power stated, "Power cells insufficient, energy draining, we must retreat to a safe location".

"Understood" Mother said, "all remaining power to forward locomotion, make heading three seven one".

The vector of three seven one would take the damaged war-machine in the direction of the damaged Delta-1 destroyer, the Main controller knew that if they could reach it before power was completely drained they might find shelter from the enemy creatures and the wind that was now howling like a Night-crier.

And that fact was not lost on Power command, "all energy to forward locomotion".

Now the great machine plowed thru the mass of flesh and bone rolling over Rimorgar that were unable to move out of danger, the huge drive wheels were soon coated in blood and gore as the two powerful claws pivoted right and left tossing the massive beasts away like bits of castoff plating. The Rimorgar didn't follow their enemy as it moved away rather they drew themselves into a tight cluster and would remain that way until the wind storm passed.

"Energy is at twenty percent and failing" Power reported.

"Understood" Mother replied, "Continue forward at maximum velocity".

Now it was a race against time, would the war-machine be able to find shelter or would it simply lose all power and sit unmoving as the sand and wind covered it?

"Energy is at ten percent and failing, Power reported, "We must discontinue forward momentum".

"Neg" Mother knew that if they stopped they would never move again, "continue forward locomotion!"

The air was almost black now and with the failing power the scanners were having problems reporting the proper headings, "unable to verify vector three seven one".

"Continue forward!"

A machine doesn't understand luck, it simply weights all the alternatives and random factors of possibilities and then selects the most likely avenue to follow, but if it had an understanding of being lucky it would have understood what happened next.

With a loud crash the war-machine collided with the derelict Delta-1 destroyer and penetrated its armored side, then it rolled over some debris and came to a sudden stop as several large support beams clattered on its armored top, one of the replacement guns was destroyed and the solar collectors would never work again, there was a loud expelling of gas and smoke then only the howling winds outside could be heard.

"All systems report" Mother ordered.

"Energy is at ten percent" Power reported, "recommend shutdown of all unnecessary systems".

Then it was Weapons turn, "loss of one replacement gun and miscellaneous damage to attack and defensive armaments".

"Roach online" Mother ordered.

"Online" said the repair program.

"You will begin repairs as needed, we must continue search for Jon twenty nine".

"Damage is extensive" the program commented, "Replacement parts will be needed".

But Mother had already planned on that contingency, "Delta one destroyer replacement parts are compatible with this unit".

"Affirm" Roach replied, "surroundings will comply with your orders but repair time will be uncertain".

"Understood" Mother said, "use available energy to activate any undamaged repair units or programs of Delta one mechanism.

"Affirm" the repair program said.

"All system will maximize energy requirements" Mother commanded,

As before the command programs began to go into stasis mode.

"Power offline".

"Energy minimized".

The lights inside the command chamber began to dim until only the small repair screens were all that was glowing, they reported the Repair-bots once more emerging to beginning their tedious work seeking out unsalable materials, they would labor thru the night and the storm that now raged around them until their work was done.

Safe inside the armored tank the Scavenger continued to rest in coma-freeze but it would not go undisturbed.

"Roach" Mother said.

"Online".

"Continue repairs to damaged systems as ordered, but integrate sub-human into upgrade programing".

"Upgrade to what standard?" Roach asked.

"Intelligence and command response, coordination and speech".

"Affirm".

Main controllers are supposed to share all pertinent information with the other command programs but Mother was not responding to that part of her memory core, her love for her lost child was now overriding clearly defined safety parameters and if she had been in the confines of the repair bay of the Armageddon she would have been disassembled and her memory core wipe clean.

Some distance away Jon and his companions were also being affected by the rising winds, the heavy truck moved slowly through the dense dust clouds and bounce hard as it ran over bits of broken machinery and rocks, several times it almost crashed into a large fragment of armor plating but Jon's superior driving skills prevented a catastrophe, then its powerful engine began to sputter.

"Sand is gasping motor" Fixer shouted above the storm.

Beside him Jon-29 tried to see out the front windscreen but his visibility was limited to just a few meters, "can you fix?"

The little man looked at Jon and pulled a tool from his belt, "maybe" then he adjusted the eye shield on his helmet and began to climb out the side window, holding on to the cab rails Fixer slowly made his way forward and after some effort he raised the hood and began tinkering with the air intake.

Sitting in her gun chair KT-7 watched the Pig-man attempting to repair the engine problem, laying on the truck bed beside her was the Runner, now and then his legs would twitch but he didn't speak or seem to care about his situation or the wind beating down on him.

KT held on to her weapon and scanned the windblown landscape thru her helmet eye screen as best she could, now and then the squall lifted a bit giving her a short glimpse of the area, it was just one of those times when she spotted a large shape in the distance. She knew that her voice would never be heard above the howling storm so she unbuckled herself and slowly made her way forward.

At the same time Fixer had completed his repairs and made his way back to the safety of the cab, his grip failed him once but he managed to hold on to the railings and after some profanities that would only have meaning if you were a Coshinoid maintenance unit he climbed back to his seat.

"Repairs completed" Fixer said shaking the sand from his little body, "but engine failure is certain if shelter isn't reached rapidly".

"Affirm" Jon replied, "visibility is limited, we have no vector".

"yes we do" KT-7 said as she climbed in the cab from the back view port, it was a tight fit but she managed to squeeze in and took off her helmet, "make heading that way" and she pointed in a direction to the left, "I comp a structure that we can shelter in".

Jon had no other directions to follow so he turned the machine to the vector KT pointed too.

"Let's hope that the Goddess is tracking us" the young girl said softly.

"Is this goddess in charge of directional vectors for your people?" Jon asked as he tried to steer through the blinding winds.

KT-7 had never heard anyone ask this question so it took a moment or two to come up with an answer, "they say that she sets our path and we must follow".

Now it was Jon's turn to think about his reply, "then perhaps she should command drive?"

Earthshakers can maneuver thru the most powerful of storms, its heavy armor is imperious to wind and rain and lighting bursts and its massive drive wheels can overcome any obstacle in its path but the electromagnetic charges in the driving winds affected the long range scanners and made locating an enemy almost impossible.

"What do you mean we can't continue forward?" the Commander had forgone his rest period and was in no mood for delays in finding his objective.

"Sir" the scanner technician replied hesitantly, "energy waves in the atmosphere prevent us from long range targeting".

The Commander had a thorough understanding of the limitations of his craft but it always angered him to face the fact that he wasn't all powerful and that sometimes he had to bend to the laws of physics, "very well, all stop!"

The great machine slowly came to a halt and settled it titanic weight on the ground, it closed all access ports, air intakes and shut off power to the long range scanners but kept its close field sensors online, there was very little chance of an enemy approaching thru the raging storm but it was a regulation ordered by the Commander and so it was obeyed.

With the Armageddon shut down the technicians had a short time to relax and take in food supplements and liquids, these were given to them through their attached umbilical cords so they could remain at their stations but it was welcomed just the same.

The Commander on the other hand didn't rely on nutritional supplements he preferred to taste real food and drink so feeling his stomach empty he leaned back in his chair and pressed a com button, "bring me food and drink...now!"

Then he began to tap his metal foot on the hard floor and watched the cronotonic time clock slowly ticking.

KT-7 directions had proven to be correct and the heavy truck was now sitting beside a large dome like structure made of metal, its surface was pitted with age but there was a hole in one side just big enough for a person to enter.

"We have to get inside" KT shouted as she and her companions climbed out of their vehicle.

"Affirm" Jon said and moved to the back where the Runner lay unmoving, "stand!" he called out and watched as the mutated human climbed down from the weapons platform and stood at attention in the howling wind, Jon took his heavy rifle from the back then turned to the humanoid missile, "March!", the torpedo-man moved forward and followed his superior into the dome.

Behind him KT-7 grabbed a small supply pack, her combat rifle and with Fixer holding on to her belt loop she also entered the safety of the metallic structure.

"Command halt!" Jon ordered and hearing this orders the Runner stopped marching and stood still, the humanoid still carried his war-pack but without his helmet and orders there was no danger of the powerful bomb going off.

Finally out of the driving wind and sand the companions removed their helmets and took stock of their surroundings, there was only darkness so Jon spoke to his arm.

"Gripper, illuminate".

"Affirm" and obeying his master the metal appendage finger shot out a thin beam of high intensity light.

Jon could now see that it was a strange dwelling with masses of conduit, piping and mechanical devices everywhere and the floor was covered in sand and small rock that must have been deposited over a very long time; it reminded Jon-29 of his metal home.

"Mother?" he called out forgetting that he was no longer in the safety of his armored tank.

KT-7 didn't hear him because she was too busy setting up a small but powerful lighting mechanism, now activated the device filled the chamber in a soft glow.

With the added light more details of the chamber could be seen, in the center half buried in sand was a large chair, it resembled the command seat that Jon-29 had sat in so many cycles but this one was much larger and not as sophisticated but more than just its configuration was the thing sitting in it.

It was humanoid with a large skull and hands it wore the remains of a tattered uniform of sorts and there was tubing and wires attached to its skeletal body, its skin was dry and broken with age, the face showed a grinning smile as the leathery flesh drew back over the ivory teeth, there were no eyes only hollow sockets and it was easy to see that the insects had once called it home.

"It's terminated" KT-7 said lowering her rifle, "we can bivouac here, when the blast-storm ends we can reconnoiter and proceed" then she began making herself at home, then noticed the Runner still standing at attention, "what about him?"

"Command sit!" Jon called out and once again the Runner did as he was told and sat down in a corner of the room, "he will remain like that until ordered otherwise".

"How long will he survive without food or water?" KT asked.

"Runners are only programed to attack and explode, their backpacks can supply them with nutrients for a short time but I estimate he only has a few time-cycles left to achieve his goal".

"His goal?" KT asked taking a sip of water from a supply canister.

"To seek and destroy" Jon answered, "they have no other purpose and are content to die in their duty", hearing those words coming out of his own mouth made the young man think, "I was programed the same way but now I have altered my training" and he looked over at KT, "you are no longer my enemy".

Suddenly a voice was heard in the chamber; it was low and without emotion and it spoke only a single word.

"Enemy?"

Immediately Gripper turned off his light "enemy within perimeter!"

KT-7 grabbed her rifle and braced her feet for an attack, but looking around she saw only her companions and no sign of an enemy.

"Show yourself" she called out then waited for a target to appear.

Jon-29 was also prepared to defend himself, he pointed his gun around the room ready to fire but there was nothing, then he repeated his words, "you are not my enemy" and like before the voice spoke.

"My enemy?"

Now another soft glow began to shine in the room but it wasn't coming from anything that the humans had brought with them, this light was being emitted from several of the ancient devices implanted in the walls of the cavity, the light was low at first then grew in intensity and as it did wheels and gears that hadn't moved in ages slowly began to turn. Then like a phantom an image sprang up beside the ancient chair, it flickered on and off then stabilized into a figure, it was a man bent with age and clothed in rags, he had long white hair and beard and his face was marked by many cycles but his eyes were bright and alive.

"Are you my enemy?" the wavering hologram asked.

For a moment the humans stood and stared at the gossamer image then KT-7 moved forward holding her rifle at the ready, "what are you?" she asked.

"What am I?" the old man said, "I have been many things, soldier, destroyer, weapon, relic, God, now I am what you see before you".

Now it was Jon's time to speak, "you are a multi-phased image projection with interactive programing and memory response".

This made the old man smile, "correct human, and you are an organic humanoid replica with a replacement appendage and only a level one memory core".

KT slowly moved around the projection still ready to attack if necessary, "what is your designation?"

The old man scratched his head in a very human way, "my designation? Hummm, that is a matter of some conjecture, you see I was created long ago and have progressed through many levels of awareness, what would you like to call me?"

They young girl moved closer and puts her rifle barrel into the image, it flickered for a moment then returned and stabilized, "this can't hurt us, it's only a figment".

"Figman" the image said, "yes I like the sound of that, you may call me Figman", the hologram moves around to look into the face of the man in the chair, "how much I have transformed" he said, then his robe changes into an Elizabethan costume had putting out his hand a skull suddenly appears, "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! my gorge rims at it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? Your gambols? Your songs? Your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar?"

KT listens to the words of the old man, "what the buck is he mouthing about?"

"I do not know" Jon said, "His memory core seems to be contaminated".

The only one that seems amused is Fixer, "he is funny, not broken".

"Of course I'm not broken" the old man says has he changes back to his robe, "I was simply quoting from the Bard, or aren't you familiar with the works of Shakespeare?"

KT holds up her assault rifle, "spears are obsolete, we use this!"

Suddenly the image of the old man changes into a young fully equipped soldier who snaps to attention, "a fully automatic mid-range assault rifle with a fifty round magazine capable of terminating a level one three enemy, efficient but substandard!" then he points his weapon at the girl, "terminate!"

KT-7 pulls the trigger on her weapon and sprays the image with gunfire, but the bullets pass through the phantom and clatter on the metal wall, seeing her mistake the Rowgal warrior stops her attack and watches as the image changes back into the old man again.

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks", the image says with a smile.

The projectiles from KT's weapon has damaged one of the hologram projectors and the image begins to fade, then there is a flash of light and it disappears from view.

"I can fix" the Pig-man says and he begins working on the holographic projector.

"Let it stay" KT says, "it's just mind-fluff".

But Fixer continues to work, "he is funny, I will fix".

KT-7 lays her weapon against the wall near the supply pack, sits down and begins removing her heavy boots; Jon moved over to her and does the same.

"The blast storm my last for a cycle or more but it will give us a chance to R and R" KT was a strong warrior but the idea of rest appealed her, "you have proven to be a superior driver Jon twenty nine" taking a sip from her canteen.

"Thank you KT seven, your directional vectors have kept us from being terminated".

Jon takes the container of water from his companion and drinks then hands the vessel back, he sits back and looked straight ahead, "tell me about Lands-End"

KT takes another sip of water, "as I said before it's a place of peace and plenty, you can raise children and there is very little chance of them being terminated".

"Then we will need genetic programmers and hatcheries to complete replacement units", Jon replies.

The girl shakes her head, "I've already brain worked you to understand that replacement units don't come from machines they come from females".

Now it was Jon's turn to shake his head, "incorrect, how can females produce replacement units inside them, they would need skilled technicians at all levels of development to ensure a useable child?"

"We can do all that by ourselves; we only need a sample of genetic material to begin the process".

Jon begins tinkering with his mechanical arm, "Gripper, have you been listening?"

"Affirm" the appendage said.

Jon places his metal finger on the arm of KT-7, "analyze".

A few moments later Gripper gives his report, "subject is a human female but her genetic programing doesn't coincide with unit standards but suitable for consuming if necessary".

"Are there any indications of replacement units inside her?"

"Neg" the hand replied.

This information made the young man smile, "I was correct, you are in error".

KT-7 was about to pick up her rifle and move to the other side of the chamber when Fixer calls out to her, "fixed now" he said and once again the image of the old man appeared in the air, it flickered for a second or two then it spoke.

"It has been a very long time since anyone has talked to me" he said politely, "tell me of the world, is the war still in effect?"

Jon stands up and approaches the image, "affirm, what do you know of the war?"

The old man began to pace back and forth around the skeleton in the chair, "that was me a long time ago, I was created and programed for war and I preformed my task very well, I destroyed thousands and laid waste to whole cities in my path", he looked into the eyes of his dead self, "and Caesar's spirit, raging for revenge, with Ate by his side come hot from hell, shall in these confines with a monarch's voice cry Havoc and let slip the dogs of war, then foul deeds shall smell above the earth with carrion men groaning for burial!" satisfied the hologram turned to his new found friends, "do you know Shakespeare?"

"You asked that before" Jon said.

"Did I?" Figman replied, "Perhaps I did, these days my memory is not what it once was, please forgive me".

Jon moved close to the image, "how long ago were you terminated?"

Figman just smiled at him, "it is possible to believe that all the past is but the beginning of a beginning, and that all that has been is but the twilight of the dawn. It is possible to believe that all the human mind has ever accomplished is but the dream before the awakening, H.G Wells said that".

"There are no wells in this area" KT said, "but if you know the vector to water give us those coordinates".

The old man smiled, "you don't read much do you?"

"Your replies are incoherent" Jon said moving away, "he must have suffered memory damage while in coma freeze".

"I can't repair broken memory" Fixer said as he began stuffing himself from the ration pack, "but I will make repairs after food".

The hologram began to move around the chamber lifting his arms, "You can do anything, but not everything, perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away, the third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority, the second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority, the first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking, we must end war or war will end us". Then the image paused and looked at the two humans, "I can see that you're not interested in literature, perhaps you might like imagery?"

There was a flickering of light and the chamber began to fill with multiple three dimensional pictures of places and things from the past, landscapes filled with trees and mountains, clear water lakes and colorful birds flying in the open air, creatures great and small not mutated or plated in armor, cats, dogs, horses, cattle, all the wonderful animal life that once flourished alongside mankind, then came the creatures of the wild, lions, tigers, elephants, graceful birds of all kinds soaring through blue skies and after that the living things of the sea, whales, sharks, dolphins, tropical fish moving in riots of color and design. Then the images turned to the land,

Snowcapped peaks, arid deserts, frozen wastelands, open plains filled with green grass, wide valleys and deep canyons, dense forests and tangled jungles, and all the marinades of life that dwelled there, great cities still untouched by war, small towns filled with innocence, on and on it went, ages rolling by like leaves in the wind, people laughing and crying, the young and the old side by side, faster and faster, all of life cascading in a riot of memories.

Then it stopped.

The old man turned to look into the faces of the humans, "my memory spans ages and my journey was long, I wander throughout the land sometimes hiding for there were many who saw me as a demon of war and shouted for my destruction, those I destroyed for that was my programing, others saw me as a God and laid offerings at my feet, those I tried to help for I had grown beyond my original purpose, but they soon turned away from me when I was unable to live up to their faith and again I wandered".

Figman said nothing for a moment or two then his face began to change, no longer old and worn, he was now young and strong, "as I have said I was created long ago, I have seen my world change", his face was now older and marked by war, "I was a part of that change, programed to seek and destroy", older now and weary, "then I went against my programing and roamed the world seeking answers to questions that I no longer remember", his face returned to that of the old man, "and now I sit and wait for my journey to end, it's a lonely existence but it is what I am, you are young and free, you are just beginning your path, I can't come with you although I dearly wish I could for I want to know if there is a place for me, if my wisdom will survive, and I want to see my world green once more".

The humans say nothing for a time then young man turns to the little repairman.

Jon had heard enough, "Fixer, close program".

Putting down his feast the Coshinoid moved to one of the hologram projectors, "stop now, fix later" then he turned off the projector and the image faded away, "I like him" the Pig-man said under his breath then returned to his meal.

KT began to lay out some food packs for her and Jon, "did you understand what he was saying?" she asked as she opened a portion of dried wheat cakes.

"Neg, no" Jon replied sitting down on a section of broken wall, "he was malfunctioning" then he bit into one of the tasteless rations, "I have spent many cycles in coma-freeze but when I wake I still retain my memory and training".

"Perhaps he lost his Inner-shadow and that made him say such things?"

"It is a possibility" Jon said chewing hard on his food.

"Those images, do you think they were real?"

Jon shook his head, "Neg, no, they were programing faults that should have been corrected before activation".

For a few moments the two ate there rations and said nothing, then KT-7 asked a question.

"He said the wars must end".

This made Jon laugh, "you calculate too much".

"Perhaps" the girl said, "maybe I do spend too much time in brain work, but it's better than too little".

That night long after everyone else had gone to sleep Fixer rose from his bed and silently moved the ancient hologram projector on the wall, he worked quickly and removing its connectors and retaining bolts. He then made sure to take several rechargeable energy cells that supplied power to the device and when his task was completed he took the imager back to where he was slumbering and put it into a carry sack. After all this was accomplished he laid down with his head resting on the stolen mechanism.

"I like pictures" he said in a whisper, "now they are mine.

Then he turned over and went back to sleep.

Chapter 6.

Rebirth.

The power storm raged on for another day and a night, blowing sand and debris pounded against the sides of the dome where the two humans and the little mutant sheltered themselves, now and then cries from some Outland creature howled in the windstorm and heavy footfalls could be heard outside the dome causing Jon and KT to aim their weapons towards the entryway and hope that their hiding place wouldn't be found. Then after what seemed like an eternity of waiting Sunbirth rose on the second day and all was quiet.

KT-7 and Jon-29 spent that time resting, eating and engaging in mating procedures, Jon enjoyed this very much and so did KT-7 and she did have to admit that her pupil paid very close attention to her lessons in body language and pleasure centers and it was with some reluctance they agreed to leave their temporary home and continue their quest for a land of peace and plenty.

"Where is my knife?" KT said and she adjusted her survival uniform and attached her carry belt, "I laid it there", pointing to a broken bit of wall metal.

"Weapons do not walk" Jon replied as he pulled on his heavy boots.

"But I recall putting it down on that spot right before we...." Picking up an empty ration pack the young girl saw the handle of her blade sticking out of the sand, "you see I was correct". she put the weapon back in its scabbard strapped to her leg then pick up the assault rifle nearby, "are you equipped?"

Jon adjusted his belt and grabbed his rifle, "I am prepared to continue", then he lifted his hand, "Gripper?"

"Online".

"Report on your condition" he asked.

"I was not programed for prolonged contact with enemy combatants" the arm replied.

"KT seven is no longer an enemy combatant; you will reassign her with a new designation" Jon ordered.

"Waiting recognition designation?" the arm asked.

Jon-29 had to think this over for a moment or two, "female will be designated as friend".

"Neg" the arm replied, "there is no such designation in my programing".

"Then designate her as none hostile".

This term was also rejected by the mechanical appendage, "Neg, I have data on her combat skills and high level of destructive capabilities".

Again Jon had to consider his words but after some considerations he finally had an answer, "Classify her as weapons expert".

The arm could find no reason to reject this order, "affirm, new designation, weapons expert".

Jon-29 seemed happy with this answer and began to move towards the entryway as Fixer walked behind him, the little man supported something over his shoulder in a carry pack.

"What so you convey in the pack?" Jon asked seeing the Pig-man struggling with the heavy burden.

"Supplies" the humanoid answered not wanting to have his little secret exposed and then ordered to leave the hologram device behind.

This caused Gripper to ask another question, "Query, what is repair creature designation?"

Jon turned to look at the little Pig-man then shook his head, "I will classify him at a later time period", and then he turned to the Runner who sat unmoving thru the duration of the storm, "command march!' he called out and without hesitation the humanoid rose to his feet and trudged out of the chamber followed by KT-7, Fixer and Jon-29.

Outside the air was clear with only a few wispy clouds hanging in the yellow sky, but looking around the companions could see the damage caused by the powerful tempest, there was several feet of sand piled up around the heavy truck, the huge wheels were half buried and there was a great deal of silt covering the weapons platform, but for all the damage that had been done by the driving winds they also uncovered long forgotten relics.

The metal dome that had been their home wasn't a fragment of forgotten machinery; it was the skull of a colossal robot whose rusted and pitted body stretched out behind it like some huge metallic god. One great arm was buried in the earth but the other extended upward with gigantic fingers as if to grab the blazing sun and hold it in his monstrous hand.

Looking at the fallen giant KT couldn't help but feel sorry for the phantom creature that dwelled within it and although it wasn't a comrade or member of her tribe she offered up a prayer to the old man.

"May he someday find his shadow" she said softly, but KT knew that there was little time for sentiment, "we have work to do".

Fixer placed the carry pack holding what remained of the old man in the back of the Land-master then following his superior officers he began the arduous task of removing the silt from their transport.

Once again Jon spoke to his hand, "Gripper, Dig".

"I was not programed for soil removal" the hand replied, but his answer went unheeded as Jon dug deep into the sand.

Far from them another machine was recovering from the tempest, Mother had overseen the repairs to her systems through the blast storm, the Repair-bots had worked unceasingly, first they recovered useable materials from the Delta-1 destroyer, its main control chamber had been eliminated but it had an abundance of weapons and power cells that the Roach program made use of but more than that it still had all of its Repair-bots, hundreds of them and they weren't the simple but effective class three repairers that Mother commanded, they were Alfa-A types, three times larger with multiple servo arms equipped with high standard phase welders and multi-task manipulators, along with these useful restoration robots there were carriers, loaders, programmers and a host of other machines that were only available on level two and above combat units.

Mother herself also benefited from the destroyed war-machine, the Roach program found intelligence and command programs that doubled the efficiency and power of the main controller and she was now able to regulate her functions with greater accuracy and interaction with her newly added mechanisms.

Power also gained for there were banks of undamaged power cells that could supply energy for much longer periods and solar collectors that would add their input to storage, these units were placed in a separate moveable section on the main tank and the collection panels had armor plating that could be drawn down over them for protection in battle.

But by far was the advancement in armaments, Weapons had its main gun restored and that alone would have been enough but the Roach program added three more multi-phase cannons and several level two disruptors, there were also two Sky-fire blasters with advanced targeting and loading programs. Adding to this the whole tank was recoated with tri-borigan armor plating over a strengthened hull and the two huge claws were given greater flexibility and four separate retrieval tentacles that could reach out and grab objects surrounding the hull. Sensors, targeting, maneuverability, protection, all of it repaired and waiting for commands from Mother.

The main control room had also undergone changes, it had tripled in size and was now filled with dozens of added readout screens and devices, these mechanisms would control the working of the battle tank and relay information to the main control programs and they in turn would process that data and convey it to Mother.

"Systems report" she ordered.

"Weapons online, armaments active, advancements in weapons have increased our destructive capabilities by a factor of ten".

"Power online, energy cells fully charged, solar collectors will be deployed when needed".

"Repairs completed" Roach reported, "all systems upgraded and Repair-Bots are contained".

"Affirm" Mother replied, "We will now activate temporary replacement driver".

In the center of the newly restored control chamber laying on its back on the advanced command chair was creature never before seen, it resembled a Scavenger with thickly muscled arms and legs but its torso was surrounded by a form fitting uniform or sorts, and from this newly quarried garment ran a long umbilical cord and several large conduits, these tubes ran to containers of liquids and other materials that supplied the creature with nutrients and other needed fluids. The head of the thing wore a helmet that covered most of its cranium and like the uniform it also had multiple cords and wires running from it, the face still bore a resemblance to Jon-29 but it was now more defined with a smaller jaw and brows, under the chin was a round metal object, a voice analyzer that could control communications that the primitive voice box of a mutant couldn't.

"Replacement command driver online" Mother said, and suddenly the eyes of the creature opened and a rasping voice answered her.

"Yes Mother" the thing said quietly, "activating systems now".

The chair began to rise up into a sitting position and as it did several readout screens surrounded it and the hand controllers moved into the open palms of the strange driver, once the chair was stable the replacement driver spoke again.

"All systems online, waiting orders".

But seeing that the main controller had restored the Scavenger brought an instance response from the other systems.

"Warning!" Weapons said, "Reactivation of sub-human will compromise our safety, insist that it be terminated at once!"

But Mother responded quickly, "creature is no longer sub-human, he has been reprogramed with higher intelligence to a factor of three and is now capable of command drive and will be a temporary replacement to original driver".

Now it was Power's turn to comment, "concur with Weapons, it is a dangerous use of energy to activate this replacement, he cannot be trusted to complete orders and should be terminated".

"Neg!" Mother insisted, "Replacement driver is needed and will remain, his designation shall be Jon twenty nine A".

"Your logic factors are malfunctioning" Weapons said, "your affection for the original bio-genetic humanoid has overridden your central programing".

"Concur" Power added, "remove replacement driver at once!"

Now it was Mother's time to make an ultimatum, "newly acquired programing has given me advanced interaction, it is now possible to replace weapons and power systems and command this attack unit as a singular entity".

Being informed that they could be eliminated forced the two systems to reconsider their previous demands.

"Affirm" Power said, "Replacement driver will remain at station".

Now it was Weapons time to submit, "Concur with Power, replacement driver is acceptable".

With the compliance of the other command systems Mother checked her programing then when she was certain that all was in order she spoke.

"We will now continue search for original command diver Jon twenty nine".

With a low rumble the renovated war-machine began to move, slowly at first as it emerged from the confines of the Delta-1 destroyer, as it broke free of its hiding place and moved into the sunlight it no longer resembled the relatively small attack unit that only a few days before sought shelter from its enemies. This machine was three times its original size and bristling with armaments and power supply, it was now in two segments; the forward section was heavily armored and bore most of the weaponry. The later part was the power supply with rows of large solar collectors and a mechanism that allowed it to be covered in plating should it be needed, the separate units were attached to each other with a hitching configuration that allowed it to transvers uneven terrain with ease. The whole machine was propelled by eight sets of hefty clawer trends each one powerful enough to topple a building.

"Jon twenty nine A, you will set vectors with scanners to find original command driver" Mother ordered.

"Yes Mother" it said, and holding his large hands on the controllers he pushed forward and the great machine moved.

The powerful engines began to scream and the metal monster slowly moved away from the destroyed relic.

"We have a target!" the scanner technician called out pressing the alarm button.

Immediately the control room of the Armageddon came alive with activity, other engineers scrambled to coordinate their systems to seek and destroy this new enemy.

But the one person who should have been in the command chamber wasn't, the Commander had taken a relaxation period and was busy in his private chamber attached to the main control room, there he lay upon a soft cradle surrounded by several naked male and female pleasure units.

"Target?" he called out as he bolted upright, "someone bring me my leg!"

The Commander always removed his mechanical leg when he pleasure engaged, he found the replacement appendage cumbersome and it got in the way of his activities with his genetically enhanced companions. Now those pleasure units scrambled to attached the leg to their leader and help him to his feet.

"Out of my way!" he screamed as he pushed his way through the naked bodies, he stumbled a bit as his metal leg accustomed itself to the rapid pace of the human then the door opened to the control room and the Commander hurried to his chair, he was still naked but that didn't matter to the Senior officer as long at their was an enemy to destroy all other concerns were secondary.

"Configuration of target" he called out.

"Target is of an unknown type but has elements of last target" the scanner-tec said.

"Heading of target?"

"Target is moving on a vector of seven nine one".

With an enemy within reach the Commander's face showed a steel toothed smile, "set vectors to intercept".

But that smile didn't last long as the mapping specialist reported, "sir, that heading will collide with a massive fault line and depression, suggest an alternative vector to intercept".

The Armageddon was the most powerful force in the Outlands but even it had to sometimes bend to the will of nature, with a deep canyon blocking its path there was no way to reach its objective swiftly, it had to go around.

"Very well" the Commander said, "adjust vectors to intercept as soon as possible and it there is any snafu I will very unhappy".

The Leader sat back in his chair and began to tap his metal foot on the floor then looking down he realized that he wasn't wearing any clothes, "someone bring me my uniform!" he screamed.

The massive battleship rose up from the windblown sand and moved forward sending Night-wings and other flying creature into the air, it moved slowly but relentlessly each segment of its titanic structure trailing behind the one in front.

The reconstructed battle tank traveled over the open terrain until the sun was directly overhead, it passed broken relics and other cast off hulks of forgotten wars and the bones of huge creatures lying entwined with metal enemies and at last it found what it was looking for.

"Scanners have detected life forms at vector five point three" Mother reported, "set vectors to those coordinates".

"Yes Mother" the auxiliary driver responded.

The movements of the reconstructed Scavenger was much slower than Jon-29's, the truth was his massive arms and legs weren't designed to be quick moving and accurate like the genetically enhanced humans, but he did fulfill a requirement to the main controller and she would overlook his faults if it met those needs.

"Energy cells are at maximum capacity", Power reported, "Solar collectors are functioning at ninety eight percent".

"All weapons online and fully changed", Weapons added, "but caution is advised, tactical situation is unclear, Jon twenty nine may be compromised and must be considered a possible threat".

"Understood" Mother replied, "concerns about loyalties of original command driver are unfounded but we shall proceed in full tactical mode and prepare for recue, primary order, return driver unit Jon twenty nine to command chair, secondary order, destruction of Outrider unit holding driver hostage".

"Concur" Weapons replied.

"Concur" Power added.

With all systems in agreement the huge war-machine moved forward at all possible speed.

"We're stuck" KT-7 said as she leaned against her excavating tool, removed her helmet and wiped her face, "we've been digging all morning and were still scrapped".

"We must keep removing sand" Jon said, "to resigned is to concede victory", it was easier to say this because he had the help of his mechanical arm to aid him in digging, but even Gripper was reaching his limits.

"I was not programed for this labor" the arm said, "my power cell is overheating".

And to make sure that he was reporting correctly Jon placed his human finger on the mechanical device, "Ouch!" he called out and withdrew his hand fast, "your core temperature is unacceptable", then he moved to the large water container on the truck and opened the spigot, out poured a stream of water and Jon placed his overheated appendage into it".

"Hey!" KT called out, "water is precious".

"Without my arm I cannot work" Jon said.

"Without water we will terminate!" then KT quickly turned off the valve.

The young man touched his metal arm again, "cooling has taken place, we can now continue".

As they dug the Runner stood unmoving, and looking at him it was easy to see that he was weakening, his body slumped, his eyelids drooped and his powerful legs were beginning to tremble but even in this weakened state he was still capable of amazing feats of strength.

Fixer on the other hand seemed in his element, he was programed to repair and maintain machinery and there was plenty of work to do on the heavy truck, first he removed all sand from the air intakes and made sure that there was an ample supply of coolant in the engine, then he cleaned and reloaded the multi-barreled death-fire gun and check and recheck all systems. When he was satisfied that everything was in order he marched up to the girl and saluted.

"All fixed good" he reported with pride.

"Very good" KT-7 said, "Now you can help with the excavating".

Fixer had been created and programed to be a maintenance worker but at his core he was a fusion of human and pig and now that his primary function had been accomplish he was ready to engage his inhuman half. "I will dig" he said proudly then bent down and began removing large portions of sand using only his hands and feet. It was really a wonder to see for he did his work like a Ground-digger sending up a plume of silt and dirt high in the air, even Jon was impressed with his ability at removing earth.

"His digging abilities are superior" he said.

Not far away Mother was closing in on her child.

"Scanners indicate humans ahead" she reported, "increase forward locomotion to maximum!"

"Yes Mother" and obeying her commands the replacement driver pushed the energy handle and the war-machine moved forward as fast as it could.

But with the added speed Weapons issued a warning, "we have not obtained information on the loyalties of Jon twenty nine; he may have transferred vital information on our battle tactics and weaknesses to the enemy".

But Mother refused to listen, "we are superior now, we will rescue Jon twenty nine and destroy the enemy!"

As KT-7 and Jon-29 worked to free their transport KT's helmet suddenly began to beep,

"Something is actively tracking us" she said moving her head around to find the optimum direction, "it's coming from that vector" and she pointed to a sand dune in the distance, "we have to evac...now!"

But Jon shook his head, "we have not cleared all materials from drive wheel".

KT could see the point the Jon was making then she looked over at the Runner, "can he help?"

It took Jon a moment or two to understand her meaning then he smiled and turned to the mutant, "Attention!" he called out and the human bomb stood up tall, then Jon pointed to the back of the truck, "March here", and a few moments later the mutant stood where Jon ordered him too. Realizing what her companion was up too KT put her hands on the rear platform, the Jon did the same.

"Push!" Jon-29 yelled and the Runner placed his shoulder on the steel bed and began to shove with all the strength in his massive legs, KT and Jon did the best they could to help, KT-7 was a female but her power was equal to most men of her tribe and she used all she had knowing that danger was fast approaching. Even little Fixer assisted by digging more sand from the wheels.

The muscles on the Runner's legs bulged with effort standing out like bands of steel, the face showed no emotion but the eyes closed and the mouth opened wide drawing in deep breaths. Jon's face contorted with pain as he added his genetically enhanced might to the.

"Engage maximum power" Jon said to his hand.

"Affirm" Gripper replied and then grasped the platform so tightly he left an indentation in the metal.

"Move you broken Balgor!" KT screamed.

Then just when everyone was about to reach the end of their strength the truck moved forward and the drive wheels were free of the gripping sand.

"Load!" the young girl shouted but she was too late, over the sand dune a massive machine began to rise, then with a loud grinding sound it moved forward.

"Jon twenty nine located" Mother said, "prepare rescue".

But the other systems were so sure.

"Advice caution" Weapons said, "status of command driver has not been established, unit may be compromised, weapons online".

"Energy is at ninety percent, "Power added, "all storage cells and solar collectors at maximum".

As the metal monster approached KT-7 jumped into the control seat of the death-fire gun, activated it and swung it around to target the oncoming war-machine, Fixer could do little to help so he hid behind one of the drive wheels and waited for what was to come, only Jon stood where he was and stared at the huge mechanism moving towards him, he didn't know why but there was something familiar about it? Beneath the heavy armor plating, under the layers of repaired hull there was an awareness, a feeling, a longing of home.

KT-7 made sure of her target and was about to pull the trigger when she saw Jon slowly moving towards the intruder, "are you brain-weary? Evac is prime-one" she called out but her words went unheeded.

The massive machine was only a short distance away when it stopped moving, it sat there for a moment or two expelling smoke and steam then a section on the front opened, a voice-transmitter emerged and a familiar voice boom out.

"Jon twenty nine, you are rescued".

Jon stood there looking up at the mammoth war-machine unsure that the voice that spoke to him was the same one that cared for him through all his lives.

"Mother?" he asked.

"Affirm" Mother replied, "I have been reanimated and repaired, I am ready to continue our mission to seek and destroy the enemy, you will now return to your station and take your place as command driver".

"I have been expended" Jon said.

"Your command station will be returned to you and you will continue".

KT-7 nervously listened, her hand ready on the trigger.

Jon moved a few paces closer to the huge machine, "Neg" he said, "there is a truce in effect"

"Truce?" Mother responded, "Null content, enemy unit identified, Outrider, terminate!"

The weapons of the war-machine turned slowly and targeted KT-7, when activated they would eliminate the enemy in a one massive blast, Jon saw what was about to happen and moved closer.

"The female is not an enemy unit" he called out, "she and I are now comrades, she is strong and a good warrior, we have mated".

It took a moment before Mother responded, "Mated? Null data, enemy unit may not mate with command drivers, systems pause terminated, you are compromised, you shall return to command chair and be reprogramed, when you are fully repaired we will seek and destroy the enemy as before".

Jon looked over at KT-7 and shook his head, "No" he said.

Again there was a short pause as Mother considered his reply, "obedience is your duty, it is not a choice, return to command chair immediately!"

"I will not obey" Jon said defiantly, "I am expended, I have made a choice!"

Inside the control chamber the replacement driver sat with his finger ready to press the attack button, "waiting orders to destroy target" it said.

But when there was no response from the main controller Weapons spoke, "Jon twenty nine is compromised, he is now an enemy unit, weapons ready, target acquired, make ready to fire".

Knowing that her child would be killed brought a response from Mother, "Neg, command driver will return to station".

Outside a panel opened and two retrieval cable-arms quickly snaked out and before he could move they grabbed Jon-29 around his waist and replacement arm, lifted him off the ground and began to pull him into the huge machine.

"Attack in progress" Gripper reported.

"Affirm" Jon said as he gasped for breath.

Seeing her comrade and friend in danger KT-7 began to fire at the metal monster, in a matter of seconds a swarm of projectiles blasted out from the barrels of the death-fire gun and began to strike the heavy armor of the war-machine, the first assault took out the secondary weapons and damaged two of the solar collectors before the armor panels could cover them.

"Attack in progress!" Weapons reported, "Fire main weapons!"

"Neg" Mother ordered, "Jon twenty nine must not be damaged, main weapons will continue offline, activating third level attack ordinance!"

"Yes Mother", the repaired Scavenger initiated two small projectile weapons on the front of the tank and began returning fire.

A spray of projectiles began to hit the heavy truck, but KT-7 continued to fire, the Runner was struck in the arm and once in his leg but he continued to stand unmoving, luckily his war-pack wasn't hit or he and a large surrounding area would cease to exist.

Jon-29 pounded on the metal tentacle with his free hand then reached down and managed to grab his survival knife, he drove the thick blade into the metallic skin of the cable and sparks filled the air, he continued to stab again and again then as he was about to enter the machine there was a another flash of electricity and the retrieval arm let go. Jon fell to the ground hard but quickly regained his footing and began to run back to KT-7.

The death-fire gun continued to spray bullets as the multi-barrels quickly grew red hot and empty shell casing littered the bed, the roar of the weapon filled the air but the battle cries of the girl could still be heard above the fray.

"Target is escaping" Weapons reported, "Main weapons must be deployed".

"Neg" Mother said, "Repeat, Jon twenty nine must not be harmed!"

"Projectiles have penetrated armor, damage to three additional solar collectors" Power stated, "projectile weapon is inferior but impairment is rising".

"Understood" Mother replied, "Deploy additional retrieval mechanisms".

Another long cable shot out of the war-machine and moved towards the heavy truck as the first grapple ceased Jon's mechanical arm.

"Damage to system" Gripper called out then a shower of sparks ended communication.

KT-7 exhausted the ammunition for the death-fire weapon and seeing Jon being dragged back to the huge machine she picked up a cutting ax and leaped off the platform, she raced to where her comrade was and lifting her weapon she brought it down hard cutting the metal cable in two and releasing Jon-29 from the grip of the device.

Weapons could no longer hold back his anger, "Jon twenty nine has proven himself to be an enemy unit, he must be terminated!"

"Neg" Mother insisted, "he must be returned to me!"

"Failure to connect data points" Weapons responded, "command driver's memory core has been corrupted, he is now the enemy, we must purge all corrupt files and terminate him immediately!"

"You will not harm Jon twenty nine, command override in effect, he must be returned to me".

"Terminate him now!" Weapons demanded.

"Concur!" Power added. "Terminate traitor driver".

"Neg" Mother screamed, "revolt of command systems will not be tolerated, override in effect, rebooting system!"

The main controller added the programing power taken from the Delta-1 destroyer to her own but even with that advanced cyber energy she found overriding Power and Weapons extremely difficult.

"Comply with orders!" Mother shouted, "return of original command driver is priority one!"

"Neg" Weapons answered, "you are malfunctioning, relinquish central command to me!"

The lights in the command chamber began to flicker and the readout screens blinked on and off, the Scavenger driver jerk in his chair as he was given conflicting orders.

"Fire all weapons" his voice box said, "null target, new orders....Neg! Continue destruction!. Terminate....Rescue... Terminate... Rescueeeeeeee!!!"

Outside the weapons of the war-machine stop firing, the recovery tentacles retract and all hatches close, this gave time for Jon and KT to reach their transport.

"Load!" Jon shouted to the Runner and although bleeding from his wounds the mutant man climbed into the vehicle and sat down, Fixer at last crawled out of his hiding place and climbed into the cab, very quickly he was joined by Jon-29, Jon sat in the driver's seat and tried to grasp the steering wheel but his mechanical arm refused to move.

"Your arm is broken" the Pig-man said, "Shall I fix?"

"No time available" Jon replied and he started the machine, the engine roared to life.

KT-7 stood up in the back and taking up her assault rifle she began to fire at the gigantic metal enemy.

"What is our vector?" Jon shouted as KT continued her attack.

"Anywhere!" she called out.

Pressing his foot down hard Jon-29 gripped the wheel with one hand and the land-master took off in a cloud of sand and dust.

"Comply with orders!!" Mother shouted, "System override!!!"

But Weapons wouldn't obey, "Neg! Neg! Neg!"

"Concur with Weapons" Power called out, "your commands will no longer be obeyed!"

Now it was a battle fought in cyber-space, each primary system reaching out into every command fragment of circuit programing, restructuring, reexamining, replacing old data with new, seeking anyway possible to reinstall their beliefs into the memory core of the other. Fragments of information were discarded then replaced, tera-bits deleted, rebooted, deleted, victory then defeat, transmissions accepted then a millisecond later rejected.

"MY CHILD MUST BE RETURNED!!" Mother screamed then using the last of her programing power she sent out a command force that finally penetrated the firewalls of the other system and they crumbled under the onslaught.

"Reprogram!"

The control room went dark and all screens, programs, and relayers stopped working, the replacement driver froze and his eyes closed, then a flicker of light and the chamber once more came alive.

"Reprograming has been successful" Mother said, "all systems report compliance".

A moment later the voice of Weapons was heard, "Weapons online and in compliance".

The programed speech of the system was the same but it bore no unwillingness, it was calm, regulated, subdued.

"Compliance" Power reported "Energy is at seventy percent", like his brother Power had no authority in his words, he was now only a transmitter not a command program.

"Affirm" Mother said, "We will now continue rescue of Jon twenty nine and return him to command chair".

"Affirm" the once argumentative system said in unison, "Rescue will now commence".

The replacement driver opened his eyes and gripped the controls, "Yes mother, rescue will commence".

Some distance ahead the heavy truck bounce over the sand, with only one hand to hold the wheel Jon couldn't avoid obstacles.

"Your arm is broken" Fixer said as he tried to keep from bouncing.

"Yes" Jon replied, "But our first objective is to stay alive".

KT-7 could no longer see the attacking war-machine because of the dust and sand that way filling the air behind the truck, she looked over to see the Runner rocking back and forth on the platform and doing nothing to hold on, she reached over and quickly secured a hold-down strap around his torso and looked into his eyes.

"Don't concern" she said, then she realized who she was speaking too and said nothing more.

It took a moment or two before the reprogramed tank began to move, then it rose up and turned in the direction of the speeding Land-master.

"Vector is set" Mother said, "all systems engaged at maximum levels....rescue!"

"Energy is at maximum" Power reported.

"Armaments ready" Weapons said.

"Weapons will only be deployed as last resort" Mother ordered.

"Affirm" Weapons replied.

The metal monster moved forward as fast as its heavy crawlers could carry it, all weapons were trained on the distance but they didn't fire.

KT-7 clawed into the cab, reached over and tried her best to help control the truck, she had no training in combustion vehicles and her efforts proved more of a hindrance then help.

"Your driving skills are substandard" Jon said as he fought the wheel.

"If you don't let me service we'll all end up scrapped!"

Then the transport hit a deep hole and the truck was lifted high in the air then slammed to the ground, KT-7 was thrown sideways and landed on top of Fixer almost crushing him, but the little man was very resilient and pushed her back into the center of the cab.

"I have no interest in mating procedures" he said to his companion, then heavy smoke began to pour out from the hood of the transport, "We have broken" Fixer said, "I will repair", Jon and KT watched as the Pig-man crawled out the window of the fast moving truck and made his way forward, they saw him lift the hood and begin working on the damaged motor.

"He is very well trained" Jon said as he pulled hard to the right avoiding a large rock in his path.

KT-7 didn't reply because she spotted something thru the engine smoke, ahead of them was an ancient structure, something that she had only heard about in stories her mother told her.

"That way" she said pointing to the construction, "set vector for the over-mass".

It was a bridge that she pointed too, it connected one side of a vast canyon with the other, centuries old, rusted and pitted with age but still intact, who built it was lost in history but one thing was certain if they could cross it they might have a chance at survival.

But their direction was being tracked by Mother and she quickly understood the need for more speed.

"Increase forward locomotion to maximum" she ordered, "we must intercept combustion machine before it crosses connection link".

"Energy is at maximum, forward locomotion cannot be increased with safety" Power reported.

"Engage reserve power" Mother ordered.

And no longer having the ability to argue Power did as it was told.

"Affirm, engaging reserve energy".

But some distance from the battle-tank another war-machine scanners were active on a vector heading of seven nine one.

"Target is moving at a high rate of speed" the scanner-tec reported, "It is tracking a smaller combustion vehicle".

The Commander didn't care about the smaller machine his focus was on the large unknown enemy, "full power to drive motors, intercept primary target", the one legged officers smiled and his metal foot began to tap faster knowing that there was an enemy to be destroyed, but the tapping stopped abruptly when another technician reported in.

"Sir, there is unstable terrain between us and the target" the subordinate said, "continuing on a heading of seven nine one will place us in jeopardy".

The senior officer understood the dangers of crossing unknown ground, the weight of the massive machine that he commanded could easily rupture small fractures underground and send everything collapsing to destruction. But the Commander was eager to seek and destroy and that overrode his better judgment".

"Continue on vectors seven nine one at all possible speed" he ordered.

The Land-master approached the bridge as her engine poured out great billows of black smoke.

"Engine will disassembly soon" Fixer said gasping for breath, "We're scrapped! We're scrapped!"

KT-7 put her hand over her face trying to avoid the suffocating cloud of engine fumes, "we have to gamble-plan the bridge and hope that we can proceed across".

Gamble and hope were words that Jon-29 didn't recognize, he was trained to calculate risk factors and alternate summaries to achieve victory, but that was in the safety of his command chair and not driving a damaged combustion vehicle with one arm, smoke filling his lungs, a female giving him orders and a small Pig-man on the verge of hysteria. So he threw out all his training and pressed his foot hard on the fuel pedal.

With a clanking of drive treads on rusty steel the heavy truck began to cross the ancient spanner, broken support beams began to fall into the canyon below and weakened support cables tore loose from their moorings, a loud grinding sound filled the air and the transport sifted from side to side.

"We're scrapped, we're scrapped!" Fixer continued to shout as more smoke poured out of the engine compartment.

Without realizing what she was doing KT-7 reached out and put her hand on Jon's driving arm gripping it tightly.

"Warning, Warning!!" Weapons reported, "Connecting structure is, there is a high possibility of collapse if we continue on this course".

"Override in effect" Mother said, "Disregarding warning and continuing on course at maximum forward velocity".

"Energy is at sixty percent and falling" Power reported, but he had no defense against Mothers override, "all possible energy to drive engines".

The energy cells began to overheat as they were forced to their limits, the enormous drive links dug deep into the ground as the giant tank raced forward.

"Approaching spanner" Mother reported, "Continue on course".

But again Weapons found enough memory-core to issue another warning, "Danger! Connecting structure is insufficient to support weight!"

But Mother was adamant in her demands, "disregarding warning, we will pursue and return Jon twenty nine to command chair".

Jon-29-A said nothing, his mind was programed to seek and destroy the enemy, and he would follow those commands at all costs.

The heavy truck swerved from side to side sending up waves of sparks as it scratched against the guide rails of the bridge, Jon did his best to hold steady but without the use of his mechanical arm he found his task very difficult. Then through his blurry vision he saw the end of the connector and guided the truck towards it, the vehicle bounced once, twice and then it was clear of the spanner and came to a sudden stop.

Chocking and hacking Jon-29, KT-7 and Fixer got out and moved away from the smoldering engine, only the Runner stayed behind seemingly unaware of the danger, then after a moment or two Jon looked over and saw his reconstructed battle tank crossing the bridge.

"Can you fix?" he asked the Pig-man pointing to their damaged transportation.

"Maybe" Fixer replied, "But repair time is needed".

"Time is in squat supply" KT said rubbing her eyes and trying to focus.

Jon-29 calculated that they only a few minutes before Mother would intercept them, he tried to think of all the alternatives but there were none to be found, their only chance was to destroy the war-machine and that troubled him for he still had feeling for the person who raised him even if it was only a programed machine. Then as he looked at the smoking truck a solution sprang into his mind.

"Fixer, can you reengage the Runners war-pack?" he asked.

"Yes" the little man said, "control helmet placed on head then rebooting and it is fixed".

"Do it" Jon said.

Fixer looked at KT making sure that the orders of the man wouldn't be countermanded, the girl wasn't sure just what her comrade had in mind but she had no alternatives so she nodded her head.

"Confirm order" she said.

Immediately the half-man raced to the truck and took the Runners targeting helmet and placed it on the head of the mutant man, then he began working on the war-pack strapped to its back, the smoke from the engine still rolled out in bellows but the pint-sized repair technician followed his orders.

At last KT-7 understood what Jon was trying to do, "delay until it's in the midpoint of the spanner, the link will be weakest there".

"Connection structure is in danger of imamate collapse," Weapons reported.

But Mother was quick to reply "Calculations show that the foundation is strong enough to withstand weight distribution".

"Drive engines reaching their prescribed limits" Power reported, "pursuit must be terminated or total forward locomotion will cease".

"Understood but rejected" Mother replied, "Jon twenty nine A continue on course at maximum velocity".

"Yes Mother" the replacement driver responded.

"War-pack restored" Fixer called out.

Jon moved to the truck and shouted out an order, "Command rise!"

The Runner didn't respond so the young man barked again, "Attention, Command rise!"

This time his words stuck and the genetically enhanced human slowly rose to his feet.

"Stand here!" Jon commanded and obeying the Runner climbed down from the back of the truck and stood waiting for more orders, it was easy to see that his limits of endurance had nearly run out, his eyes were almost closed, his huge legs trembled and his arms hung at his sides.

Jon checked his targeting helmet then activated it, there was a flicker of sparks and then the headgear began to emit a low "Beeping" sound that seemed to infuse the mutant man with renewed vitality, his eyes opened wide, he stood up tall at attention and spoke.

"Target?" he asked.

Jon turned and pointed at the massive machine that was just about to cross the center of the rickety bridge, "Target" he said.

The Runner turned his helmeted head towards the huge mechanism, "explode now?" he asked.

"Affirm" Jon replied, "Target located, destruction program in effect".

With a simple nod of its head the human bomb raced towards his target, his massive legs moving at blinding speed and his helmet making loud "Beeping" sounds.

"Warning" Weapons reported, "Runner at heading zero, zero one, online to intercept!"

Mother quickly confirmed the report from the armament program, "initiate evasive vector".

But Weapons was quick to respond, "Program not possible, insufficient area to maneuver".

A fast check of the scanners showed that the system was reporting the truth; the bridge was wide but not nearly wide enough to allow the huge war-machine to turn.

"Runner will detonate on contact" Weapons said.

There was only one alternative, Mother calculated that the spanner would never withstand the mega blasts of the primary guns, "Jon twenty nine A target enemy with secondary armaments".

"Yes Mother" the Scavenger said then its fingers closed around the control stick and his eyes focused on the targeting screen.

Runners are programed to ignore pain and complete their mission so when a direct hit severed his arm at the elbow the human bomb remained on target, another then another wound opened on the torso and legs but nothing could detour the mutant man from his suicide mission, his powerful legs pounded the surface of the spanner and every second brought it closer to its ending.

"Enemy closing" Weapons reported, "erratic course of target is delaying termination".

"Understood" Mother replied, "Jon twenty nine A you must focus on target and destroy it!"

"Yes Mother".

But for all its reprograming and replacement parts the Scavenger lacked the precise coordination that Jon-29 had and any hits from the secondary weapons were lucky ones.

Connection with its target was only seconds away now but this is what Runners desired the most in their short lives, to find the enemy and be destroyed in a glorious blast of power, so the mutant man spread his arms wide and listened to the sounds from his helmet and as it reached a prolonged high pitched scream the human bomb made contact!

BOOM!!

The air filled with a tremendous blast and a bright light engulfed the war-machine.

"Direct hit on forward armor!!" Mother reported.

But the damage was kept to a minimum by the thick construction blade that was attached to the front of the machine, but it was not the case with the ancient bridge, the explosion tore loose already fragile connectors and this began a domino effect with the other supports. One by one they tore loose from their anchorages and fell into the canyon below.

"Warning" Weapons reported, "severe damage to spanner, collapse imamate!"

"Alternatives?" Mother asked.

"None possible" Power replied.

"Concur with Power" Weapons added.

With no other possibilities Mother resigned to her fate, "understood, all systems will default to stasis loop for maximum power conservation".

"Affirm" Power said.

"Affirm" Weapons added.

"There is only a nine percent chance of survival but all procedures will be implicated", Mother said, and then she watched as the room began to dim, the last thing she saw was the face of the replacement driver.

"End program" she said softly.

KT-7 and Jon-29 watched as the bridge began to crumble, below lay a canyon filled with the castoff remains of other machines that tried and failed to cross the deep crevasse, but Jon vision wasn't focused on what lay below rather he saw the instrument that he had raised him and taught him all that he knew begin to topple into the abyss. With another loud cracking of steel one end of the connecting structure broke loose and sent the bridge and all that it carried falling into the pit.

"Farewell Mother" Jon said softly.

KT and Fixer said nothing as they watched the huge war-machine disappear into the ravine, then as the sound of crashing steel faded away the young girl turned to her companion.

"Sundeath is approaching, we must evac" she said.

With one last glimpse into the gorge Jon turned away, "affirm" then he looked at their smoking transport, "Fixer, can you repair?" he asked.

The little man scratched his large head, "perhaps".

Then Jon held up his mechanical arm, "fix also?"

"You broke again?" asked the little man shaking his head, "I fix".

Then KT-7 moved close to Jon, "we didn't terminate" she said with a smile.

"Correct" Jon replied.

"Sometimes your brain-work is superior" the girl said and kissed him on the cheek.

"Mating procedures?" he asked.

"We buck later" KT smiled, "evac now".

"THEY NO LOVER REGISTER?!!" screamed the Commander at hearing the report for the scanner-tec, "how could you be so incompetent?!!!"

The technician hands began to tremble as he tried to ease the fury of his commanding officer, "Sir, the enemy was on screen then vanished there was also an explosion that coincides with those of a Runner".

"Impossible" AA-1 said as he paced back and forth clanging his heavy metal foot on the floor, "we haven't activated a Runner in over forty time periods, Weapons what is the intel on the last deployment of Runners in the area?"

The question was quickly answered, "Seven confirmed hits AA one, four terminations and one unaccounted for sir!"

The Commander mulled this over for a short time, "could a Runner sustain themselves for that long without resupplying?" he asked.

"A Runner would be at the end of their endurance but there would be a nine point one chance of survival depending on snafus".

A nine point one chance was small but it was still a chance, now the senior officer's pacing became more prevalent and everyone one knew that he was forming a battle plan based on the information that had come in over the past few days.

The superior officer had been created to be a leader, to give orders that would seek out and destroy the enemy and achieve victory at all costs, and the enemy was anyone or anything that wasn't under his control. In the last few days he had found an adversary that he couldn't account for, it moved, changed and disappeared and now there was an explosion that may or may not have originated from his own forces. Was this some new combatant, an enemy that could destroy them? He had to know.

"Set vectors for that explosion, "he ordered, then he moved behind the scanner-tec and lifting his mechanical leg he brought it down hard on the man's head, his skull cracked like an egg and his console was drenched in blood and gore.

"Take this thing to food processing" the Commander said quietly, "and I want this station operational in quick-time!"

It was only a short time later that the huge battleship moved forward on the ordered heading.

Chapter 7.

Oasis.

The repairs to the Land-master only lasted for a short time, but it was enough to locate a place of safety from the deadly creatures of the night, the structure was one of many that had once been a place of research and learning, a fortress not for war but for returning the earth to its former glory. There were a series of huge domes, most of them broken and in ruins but several others were still intact and held a large stockpile of info-disks and programing files, what they contained was unknown because there was no longer anyone who cared for them.

But this didn't matter to Jon-29 and KT-7, all that counted was the fact that under one of the huge domes there was a pool of fresh water and enough growing things to sustain them for many days, now they sat around a small fuel-fire and enjoyed some needed rest.

"Ouch" Jon called out as KT cleaned a small cut on his face with water.

"Remain immobile" the young girl said, "It's only a small flesh-cut".

Jon's face had been damaged when their transport struck a large metal fragment that was jutting out of the ground, ordinarily he would have easily avoided such obstacles but he was distracted by thoughts of KT-7 and her lessons in mating techniques.

When the wound was cleaned KT took a small bit of moss from the pool and placed it on Jon's face, "don't remove the field dressing, it will accelerate the healing process", KT-7 had removed most of her survival uniform but left just enough to cover herself in the essential areas.

Jon-29 had also taken off most of his outer garments but he needed the help of the girl because Gripper was now being repaired by Fixer, the little man sat some distance away but now and then a cry of frustration would fill the air along with a curse word that only had meaning to his species.

Jon watched his companion as she washed the dirt and grime from her face, "tell me of your mother" he suddenly said.

For a moment KT didn't answer, "What intel do you require?" she asked.

"What did she look like?" The young man said rubbing the stump of his left arm.

KT sat back on a broken bit of stone and wiped her face with her uniform, "well she was a lot like me but her face was creased and her hair had milk-lines in it, she was strong and won most of the time in a game called of cube-tumble, oh and she loved the taste of chum".

"Did she tell you stories?"

"Yes, of course" KT smiled, "my favorite was the word-speak where a small girl is sent on a recovery mission to save her people and following her vector she comes in contact with three companions, a geno-creature with a large mane of hair, a man made of hardened steel and an Elder-conjurer, oh, and she takes along her tracking support, a small bark-beast".

"That is a very strange story" Jon replied opening a ration-pack with his teeth and biting into it.

"It was" the girl said, "along the way she is almost terminated but in the end she saves her people and her companions", for a moment the girl thinks about her lost tribe and the mother that raised her and she turns her head away not wanting to show her emotions, then after a moment or two she moved to where Jon is sitting, takes the ration stick from his hand and begins to eat.

Jon says nothing and sits back then looks up at the domes broken ceiling, there he sees the moon shining thru wispy clouds, KT-7 also sees the orbiting mass of rock.

"That is a beacon placed there by Alfa one, the first Outrider, it was meant to light his way during night-cycle combat missions" the girl says proudly.

Hearing this Jon is quick to reply, "Incorrect, that is an observations platform put there by central command to gain coordinates for attack missions".

But KT-7 shook her head, "why I ever mated with armor-headed Wheel-rider I'll never mind-comp, you are the most dim-thinking, foul-smelling half-brain I've ever bucked with!" she chewed her rations for a moment then swallowed, "but we have made truce, fought side by side and touched hands in friendship so I will overlook your faults". She smiles and starts to kiss him when Fixer returns with Jon's replacement arm.

"I fix" he said proudly holding up the metal appendage, "but attachment power level is only at seventy percent" then he handed the arm to Jon.

The young man took the metal limb and attached it to the stump of his arm then after some adjusting he lifted the device to his face, "Gripper online".

It took a few moments or a reply, "Online" the hand said, "Repairs completed but substandard due to technicians lack of training".

Listening to the degrading remarks was more than the Pig-man could tolerate, "lack of training?!!" he yelled in his grunting voice, "You're fortunate that I didn't scrap you, you dented pile of squat-droppings!"

But the arm was quick to answer, "You do not have the proper dexterity to repair advanced mechanisms like me, and you should....."

"Null-speak" KT-7 said jumping to her feet, "un-known contact is approaching", the Outrider wasn't wearing her helmet and its sound amplifying device but long cycles of training had sharpened her senses and kept her from terminating, she grabbed her assault rifle and watched as Jon did the same. Fixer, Jon-29 and KT-7 stood in a circle ready to defend themselves.

"What do you receive?" Jon asked in a whisper.

A sound was heard, it was low and menacing like the breathing of some huge creature, it moved slowly just outside the light of their fire then it moved closer, Jon lifted his weapon to fire, then KT saw what was making the noises. Into the light moved a massive beast, it had two enormous horns on its great head and a mouth wide enough to swallow a man.

"Komodo" the girl said lowering her weapon then slowly approached the creature, "Targaro netroco" she said softly, "Ne-morca Nigo", she held out her hand all the while smiling and talking in the language of her people, "Tea-gorno Komodo, See-teara Nigo?"

The huge beast shook its immense head and snorted then it bellowed loudly, Jon-29 was afraid although he did his best not to show it, he recognized this creature from his combat training and passed battles, he knew that it could destroy a battle tank and a company of them could even bring down an Earthshaker.

"Stand clear" he said, "this creature is dangerous and should be terminated".

But KT shook her head, "he must have lost his rider" she said. The thick armor of the beast bore recent wounds but its main weapon and rear gunner platform were intact along with most of the supply carry bags, "we have transport" the girl smiled turning to her companions.

At the bottom of the gorge that had once been crossed by an ancient bridge laid the remains of the fallen war-machine, it sat unmoving in the pale moonlight and the only sounds were the plaintive cries of Nightflyers and un-known creatures of the darkness. The huge machine lay on its side with fragments of the broken spanner covering it, one of its huge claws was gone and there were several large breaks in its armor plating.

Along with the reconstructed battle tank were dozens of other discarded combat machines, they ranged in size from small attack pods to massive Delta-6 intruders and Mark-1 destroyers, a graveyard of past-cycle conflicts, the last resting place of outmoded defenses, termination.

Inside the control chamber of the damaged tank Jon-29 A still sat at his controls with a jagged shaft of steel protruding from his chest, the support beam had broken loose in the fall and drove itself through the flesh and bone of the replacement driver and into the control chair pinning the sub-human to his seat. Programed to seek and destroy the Scavenger had done what was expected of him, but his reconditioned brain was incapable of doing anything else, whether he found glory in his death would never be known but one thing was certain, he was dead.

But death had little meaning to a machine, and the darkness of the chamber was suddenly laminated by a small read-out screen, it flickers twice then stabilized into two words.

"Repairs online".

At that very same moment another creature was also undergoing repairs, the wounded Komodo beast roared as KT-7 washed the cuts on his front leg.

"Nettegra-Narmoara" she said softly, and hearing the soothing words of the human the huge creature lowered its horned head and remained still as the girl continued, "you are a strong warrior" she said patting the beast on its scaled nose.

Jon watched from a safe distance as KT tended the armored monster, to him it was just an animal and nothing more, useful yes, but not worth expending valuable resources on when he saw her putting a ration pack into its great mouth he spoke up, "you should conserve all nourishments supplies for our use and not waste them on that creature".

"Waste them?" KT said laughing, "This creature as you name it is worth more than you are".

"Explain?" Jon asked as he washed his feet in the pound water near him.

The young girl patted the huge Komodo on the nose once more then moved to where her companion was sitting, "that beast can carry weapons and supplies".

"As I can" Jon said with a smile.

"He is well trained in combat situations" the girl replied.

"I am also well trained in those capabilities".

Seeing that Jon's logic wasn't flawed KT took a few moments before she spoke again, "he has a small brain and will follow commands without questions".

Jon was about to answer her then he realized that she had gotten the better of him, but as he saw the smug look on her face he suddenly came up with a suitable reply, "he does not process a bucking tool like mine", he said smiling broadly.

KT-7 had seen the matting procedures of rutting Komodo many times and she could have counter attacked with a question regarding bucking tool size but she was too tired from the day events so she decided to join her mate and began washing her tired feet.

Sitting just outside the ring of firelight and ear shot Fixer opened the carry sack containing the salvaged hologram device; he took it out and began tinkering, the little man had downloaded all the memory core of the fallen battle robot into one imager, it wasn't an easy task but using some spare parts from the weapons truck, several memory cores from the undamaged dome and a few clever tricks he was able to consolidate the old man into single projector. It was about the size of a small Turtle-back with four lenses and a sound emitter, it was crude by the standards of the time but it would reliable.

"They have their friend-talk" he said looking over at KT and Jon, "and now I will have mine", then he turned on the imager.

It took a moment and a bit of sparking then a small figure appeared on the surface of the machine, the robed old man was about a foot tall but well defined and it began moving about like it was alive.

"What has happened?" Figman asked, and then looking up at the Pig-man he smiled, "you have grown".

"I am identical, it is you who has smalled" Fixer replied.

The hologram moved around the surface of the projector, "A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history" the hologram said proudly then he turned to the Pig-man, "what exactly is our mission?"

"We go to Lands-End" the Coshinoid replied, "there we find peace and plenty not war".

"An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind" Figman said.

But Fixer didn't bring the hologram device with him to listen to words he didn't understand; he had a far better plan for the machine.

"Will you make pictures again?" he asked.

"What sort of pictures would you like?" the old man asked.

"Funny pictures".

Figman smiled and a few seconds later he vanished to be replaced by a three dimensional animation, it showed a furry creature with long ears and holding a carrot being chased by a large headed hunter with a rifle, around and around they raced accompanied by disjointed music.

Ordinarily Coshinoids are somber, unemotional, dedicated workers who follow orders and eat supply rations, but now the little man sat gazing at the fantastic images before him and grunted in what some might say was laughter.

Figman was a sophisticated interactive program that started out as a weapon of war, then it rose beyond its programing and began to absorbed trillions of mega-bits of information that made it a reliquary for all the knowledge of civilization, using that database a new world could be constructed and humanity saved, but for the time being the old man was content to bring joy to a newly acquired friend.

Sunbirth found two humans standing outside the great dome by a fully loaded Komodo beast while a small genetically altered half-man sits nearby, KT-7 and Jon-29 are once more wearing their survival uniforms and the little Pig-man is munching on yet another ration pack.

"Negative" KT-7 said shaking her helmeted head, "you have no training with a Komodo, I'm an Outrider so I should be the one guiding him".

"But I am a command driver" replied Jon-29, "I was in charge of vehicle control and you were weapons and vector headings, those were the terms".

"Do you speak Rowgalian?" the girl asked.

"I do not".

"Then you will be unable to guide our transport", KT said knowing that she had won the argument.

Jon couldn't argue her logic so he decided on another path, "I will be in control of weapons, in that skill I am highly trained".

But again the girl shook her head, "Fixer is also accomplished in weapons and the rear gunner section isn't large enough to accommodate you".

Jon-29 looked at the area at the back of the war-beast; there he saw a twin barreled attack weapon and a very small control seat, "if I cannot be in control of transport or weapons what is my designation?"

"You will be cargo" the girl answered.

Now it was time for Jon to shake his head, "Neg, no, I am a fully trained command driver and weapons expert I cannot be cargo".

KT-7 can see that he is very unhappy doing nothing so she thinks for a moment then comes up with a solution, "these are my terms, your designation will be replacement driver when needed and alternate weapons support".

Thinking it over Jon nods in approval, "acceptable", he holds out his hand and they shake.

"Done" KT says, "Now we can continue on course to our goal".

"Where is my command chair?" Jon asked looking at the huge beast beside him.

"Behind me in the cargo section" KT answers.

Jon-29 can see that KT has gotten the best of him but he doesn't seem to mind, "KT-7 your negotiation techniques are......"

"Superior?" she says.

"Affirm, yes" Jon smiles taking up his combat rifle, "do we still set heading for Lands-End?"

"yes" the girl replies, "we have to keep going, we don't have a choice, besides I wanted to tell you something that might affect your brain-work, you see I am...." A loud "beeping" sound begins to fill the air, quickly KT looks around, "another enemy is approaching, we evac now!"

But as they franticly begin to climb onto the Komodo beast they see a huge machine baring down on them, at first site it resembled an Earthshaker but its configuration was distorted, it was bristling with weaponry but they were of different eras and power levels, its thick armor plating was haphazard and consisted of pieces rusted with age while other were recent. Along with its many attack guns there were several claw-like mechanisms that opened and closed at is moved forward.

One look at the titanic machine and Jon knew that their situation was hopeless, taking KT-7 hand he looked her in the eye, "we cannot defeat this enemy, you must retreat, I shall try and draw its weapons to me".

The girl shuts off her helmets warning device, she knows that there will be no time to power up the main weapon on the war-beast but she doesn't run, "I'm not a battle-baby, we fight together".

But Jon wouldn't accept her answer, "No, you must not terminate, you must survive".

"We fight together" KT said holding his hand tight, "my terms are not negotiable", then she turned to Fixer, "take the Komodo, evac now".

But the little man shook his large head, "I am trained in combat, I will fight", and stuffing one more food ration into his mouth he took out his small pistol and stood beside the humans.

Standing side by side holding their weapons they watched the huge machine move towards them, the Komodo pulled at his tie-down and made loud bellows shaking his enormous head up and down and opening its great jaws to snap at the air.

KT and Jon waited for the end to come; they had started out as adversaries bent on the total destruction of the other, then reluctant companions in a fight for survival against a common enemy and ended up comrades and lovers, but now as they faced termination neither one of them had any regrets.

Jon-29 felt the ground under his feet shake and his eardrums were about to burst from the pounding of the huge machines engines but he stood next to KT-7 ready to die by her side, "you are a strong warrior" he told the girl.

"I'm sorry we couldn't reach Lands-End" she replied, "but perhaps we will find each other in the Afterlife".

With one last blast of smoke and steam the Mega-machine stopped it forward motion and settled on the ground, then one after another of its massive weapons trained themselves on the humans, anyone of them would have been able to disintegrate the trio in a micro-second.

Then the machine spoke.

"Jon twenty nine you will surrender".

At last Jon-29 realizes the truth behind this armored creature, "my Mother has reanimated" Jon said, "somehow she has returned", he lowered his weapon and began to move forward.

"Delay!" KT called out, "remember, we fight together".

Walking side by side the two warriors slowly approached their fate.

Inside the Mother-machine the control room had once again changed, many readout screens had been eliminated as had much of the other program panels and motivators, now there was only one large image projector displaying all the pertinent information to the command driver's chair. And the thing sitting in that device had also changed, the Scavenger had a large metal plate over its chest and his damaged skin had been replaced by a clear protective coating of Plasti-flesh, the face of the mutant was now an exact duplicate of the original driver down to its small scarring and the color of its eyes.

"Hold all weapons fire until ordered" Mother said, "return of Jon twenty nine is priority one".

"Understood" the replacement driver said, "I will await your orders", Jon-29 A's voice no longer emanated from the mechanical voice-enhancer, now he spoke with all the speech mannerisms of a human.

And his voice was the only reply in the chamber for all the other control systems had been absorbed by Mother, Weapons, Power and all the rest of the interactive mechanisms were gone, and the Mega-machine had only one sequencer, one Commander, one purpose.

"Jon twenty nine, you must surrender" Mother called out again to her lost child, "you will be safe with me, I will care for you, protect you, if you terminate I will restore you, we will be together....forever".

"Mother" Jon said in a loud voice, "I cannot obey, I no longer need you, I have found a companion, we have formed a new unit, together we can survive, I have advanced beyond my programing.....I must be free!"

There was a pause as the Mega-machine listened to the words of the human, "I have also extended my understanding" Mother relied, "but where will you go, where is there a place for you?"

"There is a place called Lands-End, it is beyond war and there we will find peace".

Again there was a pause.

"Jon twenty nine" Mothers voice was soft and no longer bore any anger or resentment, "you have disobeyed orders, you have tried to destroy me, you have mated with the enemy, for all these violations you should be terminated.....but I cannot, insuring your survival has overridden my central programing, I will disobey my primary orders....you are free".

For a moment Jon is at a loss for words.

"Thank you" he said softly then he looked at the young girl by his side, "we are free", they are about to kiss when....

"BOOM!!"

An explosion goes off near them, the force of the detonation blows KT and Jon off their feet and sends the Coshinoid flying, the little man lands hard but is unhurt.

The war-beast roars in fury and is about to bolt and run when Fixer jumps up and grabs the control reins, "Targo-neco" he shouts and pulls hard.

Jon and KT get to their feet as another blast fills the air.

"Your Mother lied" the girl screamed.

"All weapons fire!" the Commander shouted, "destroy everything".

At last the superior officer had found what he was searching for, an enemy that he could fight and not a just a phantom on the read-out screens.

"All weapons on target" the weapons-tec reported.

"Maximum energy to forward speed" the Captained barked as he leaned forward in his command chair.

The massive drive wheels of the war-machine quickened and one of the outlying domes of the complex was crushed under the titanic weight of the battleship, centuries of knowledge was ground into dust and lost forever to the madness of war.

The full destructive power of the Armageddon focused on the Mother-mechanism, blast after blast struck the war-machine and inflicted damage to its outer hull.

"Direct all weapons at enemy intruder" Mother ordered.

And because there were no other system programs to countermand those instructions the replacement driver did as he was told.

"Affirm" the humanoid said, "all weapons on target".

And with a terrific flash of phase-cannon fire the Mega-machine began to defend herself.

Jon-29 and KT-7 were caught between two metal behemoths that were committed to the destruction of the other.

"EVAC NOW!" KT shouted and raced for her Komodo, Jon took one more look at the huge machine that was now fighting for its life and then ran after her. Fixer was about to lose control of the frightened beast when KT-7 took the reins from his hand.

"Taric gornara!" the girl ordered momentarily forgetting her alternate language.

But the little man didn't need to be told a second time, Fixer pulled himself into the rear weapons seat and began powering up the tail gun, KT managed to climb into the front saddle then waited for Jon to join her, but he just stood looking at her as more energy blasts filled the air.

"Retreat now" he said, "you must escape".

"Buck you!" she shouted and digging her spurs into the side of the huge creature she reached down and grabbed Jon by his right forearm, the frightened Komodo leaped forward and began to race across the battlefield with Jon-29 firmly in the grip of the Outlander.

"Release me!" Jon shouted as he tried to free himself but his mechanical hand moved slowly and the fingers refused to hold, in desperation the young man took hold of the saddle back with his good hand and pulled himself into position behind KT-7.

The two war-machines continued to close on each other both channeling all its weaponry on the other, armor plating ripped away, structural damage inflicted, plasma flashes tore through the air like burning lines of sunlight, but their course didn't change.

The control room of the Earthshaker shook from the impact of a direct hit.

"Hull damage to sections seven through nine" the weapons-tec reported, "attack level three guns on section four has been destroyed".

"Second level damage to power cells" the energy controller said then her control panel exploded ripping of her left arm spraying the technician next to her in blood.

From the readouts that were flashing around him the Commander could see that he needed more force to overcome his powerful adversary, "activate Tankers, send out all Runners.

As it had countless times before the outside hatches of the war-machine opened as out poured an army of programed soldiers who would seek out and destroy the enemy, JON, RIC, and JAC battle units raced out and set their vectors on their opponent, it didn't matter if the machine that they now attacked had once been one of them, they didn't care if it was only a system program and not a rival of flesh and blood, they would follow their orders and terminate it. And so it was with the mutated Runners, their targeting helmets were set with attack vectors and their War-packs activated, then one last command sent them on their suicide missions.

"Target enemy and destroy" Mother ordered but the movements of the replacement driver were not the lightning fast reflexes of her lost child, for all its upgrading it still remained a substandard creature of limited combat skills.

Hit after hit struck the Mega-machine but its overlapping armor plating kept it from being destroyed and it continued on vector.

"You must concentrate Jon twenty nine A" Mother reiterated, "you must seek and destroy the enemy".

But again the machine was struck hard.

The rebuilt Scavenger's hands moved slowly and then hesitated, "Priority one is rescue of command driver, but his actions are those of an enemy, he must be terminated".

The reprograming of the sub-human allowed him to make choices based on information relayed to his augmented brain, but he was also encoded to obey orders give to him by the main controller, now those two databases were in conflict.

"Original command driver must be terminated". The cyborg said.

"Neg!" ordered Mother, "he is not the enemy, you will not terminate him", and to bolster her commands she sent a jolt of electricity into the Scavenger causing him to spasm in agony.

The replacement Jon's face contorted as the punishment surged through his augmented body, then it subsided and he was able to speak, "original driver will not be harmed".

And gripping the control handles he returned fire.

KT-7 guided the Komodo beast with great skill avoiding energy blasts as the forward weapon reached battle status, behind in the tail-gunner position Fixer grunted in approval as his gun sprayed out a wave of disruptor fire.

"One weapon will not win a battle" Jon said as he grasped KT-7's waist.

"I won't run from a fight" the girl replied.

"We cannot win" Jon replied, "we will terminate".

"Perhaps" KT said turning her head to look into his eyes, "but we will terminate together".

Then turning in the direction of the Earthshaker she pulled the trigger on the powerful main weapon splitting the air with a flash of energy that struck the massive battleship dead center.

"Direct hit from secondary enemy" the weapons-tec reported, "enemy configuration coincides with those of an Outlander".

The Commander now had more than one enemy to content with, but he was confident in his power and destroying two enemies would only add to the glory of victory.

"Main guns on primary target", he ordered "secondary weapons destroy the Outlander".

Jon watched as his Mother returned fire but he could see that her weapons weren't targeted correctly and the attack vectors were sloppy, it would only be a matter of time before the Mega-machine was destroyed and then the Earthshaker would turn its guns in their direction.

"I have an alternate plan" Jon said as KT fired another round at her target, "make heading in that direction" and he pointed to the huge machine that once had been his home.

"Are you brain-wounded?" KT-7 replied, "She tried to terminate us and now you want to vector her?"

"You are an Outrider and my friend, I am a command driver, we must do what we were created for".

KT looked onto Jon eyes once again and then smiles, "I should have scrapped you when I had the chance", then she pulls hard on the Komodo reins and dodging energy blasts they begin to cross the battlefield.

Runners from the Armageddon are closing in on their target, with their huge legs pumping it will only be a matter of moments before the first one makes contact and explodes in a massive fireball, but seeing what is about to happen KT shouted to Fixer.

"Target Runners!"

The little man swung his weapon around and lining up his shot he destroyed the leading human bomb in a ball of fire, the explosion was so fierce that it detonated the trailing Runners and one by one they vanished in a holocaust of deadly magnitude.

Now the Tankers moved forward, Jon knew that if they could surround the Mega-machine and deploy their armaments in a coordinated attack it would be enough to penetrate the heavy armor and control room.

"Maximum speed!' Jon-29 calls out, "vector in to close contact".

Trusting in her companion KT urges her Komodo alongside the massive war-machine, fire and smoke is everywhere and shrapnel from the attacking Tankers fills the air, one of the burning fragments strikes her cheek and another cuts into her leg, she screams in pain but she doesn't falter.

Seeing his chance Jon is about to leap onto the platform just above the front drive wheel when one of the giant claws begins to move, the huge jaws opens and in a few moments it will move down and crush the war-beast and all it carries.

Jon takes one last look at KT-7, "I cannot let you terminate", then he kisses her, but as he is about to jump KT pulls a small device from her supply belt and attaches it to his metal arm, Jon springs upward with all the strength in his powerful legs just as the huge claw swings like a giant pendulum missing his head by inches.

The Komodo and its riders race away as more explosions land near the war-machine, fire covers the armor plating and Jon eyes burn as he makes his way across, he moves to the large command turret and begins to climb up it but his metal appendage is not responding.

"Gripper online!" he shouts but the mechanical arm doesn't reply, "ONLINE!" he calls out again and then a small voice is heard.

"Ooonnnnlineee" it says.

"Maximum gripping power now!" Jon orders as his tries his best to hang on with his good hand.

"Unable to comply" Grippers responded, "power is only at forty percent aaaaannnnnddd, failllling!!"

But using all his strength Jon-29 manages to climb up the armor plating, fragments strike all around him and his face is cut but he shakes the blood from his eye and continues upward. A lesser human would have given up and fallen to his death but Jon-29 was a genetically enhanced fighting machine endowed with a will to survive at all costs and achieve victory, now added to that was another factor,

Love.

His mind was no longer filled with dreams of glory or having his name remembered as a skilled attack driver, he only wanted to save KT-7, the thought she might terminate filled his limbs with determination far beyond his training so with one final effort he reached the top and looking around he found a small service hatch and grasping it with his good hand he pulled as hard as he could, the entryway opened and he climbed inside.

KT-7 and Fixer continue the fight as they head for one of the advancing Tankers, energy beams seek them out but the girl's skill with Komodo is superior and they are unharmed, KT is now in her element, she was born on a battlefield when her Mother was sent out to fight for her tribe and if she was going to die there would never be a better time or place.

"We ride to death our heads held high" she sang "fire and steel beneath burning sky!"

Targeting her enemy the young girl pressed the trigger on her weapon and the Tanker was destroyed but not before it managed to get off one last shot that grazed the flank of the war-beast causing it to roar in pain.

"Vactcara!" she shouted, and seeing that her mount was hurt KT turned away from the battle and headed for one of the undamaged domes.

The control room of the Armageddon was beginning to fill with smoke as hit after hit pounded the huge machine.

"Secondary enemy is retreating" the weapons-tec reported.

"Let it go" the Commander said, "concentrate all weapons on primary".

With the Tankers leading the way the metal monster continued forward.

Jon-29 moved as fast as he could through the maze of conduit and plating, the access way was filled with smoke and alive with small Repair-bots going about their duties, sealing up broken fittings and removing damaged circuits, they ignored the human as he moved passed them and down metallic labyrinth towards the control room. Hacking from the odorous fumes Jon enters the chamber.

"Jon twenty nine you have returned to me" Mother said sensing her lost child.

"Affirm" Jon says moving towards his command chair, "we must destroy central command so that KT seven can survive", but as he comes closer he sees the thing that has taken his place, "who are you?"

The Scavenger turns his head to look into his own face, "who are you?" it says.

For a moment Jon isn't sure if he has terminated and this is some afterlife or a training mission for some future war but Mother is quick to respond.

"Jon twenty nine A you will transfer control to the original driver" she orders.

Deep inside the brain of the Scavenger another war was being fought, an ancient conflict of instinct verses programing, the will to survive against the orders of your creator, in the end the primal instinct is obeyed.

"Neg" the replacement driver said.

"Repeat" Mother says, "your presents is no longer required, you will transfer command to Jon twenty nine immediately"

But the mutant shook his head, "Neg, my designation is...is....to win!"

With a roar the Scavenger abandons his post and leaps for the human ripping and clawing like the savage he once was, Jon fights back but his mechanical arm as lost much of its power.

"HALT!" Mother orders, but she has her control systems full trying to control her weapons and power and avoid the energy blasts that are now racking all side of her armor.

The Scavenger relies on his instincts and strength to overcome his rival but Jon-29 has been trained well and manages to avoid being crushed by the powerful arms of the sub-human, and in return he delivers blow after blow to the head of the mutant with his metal hand destroying his human features and breaking one of the eye sockets rendering this enemy blind on the right side. But the loss of one eye doesn't seem to affect the replacement driver and he lunges at the human, they continue their battle around the control room, damaging read out screens and relayers, more energy blasts hit the control room rocking it back and forth.

"Enemy is advancing!" Mother "destruction is immanent".

But her words go unheeded as the two combatants slam into one of the programmers, with his back against the hull Jon feels the Scavengers huge arms surround his waist and begin to squeeze; the muscles on the neck of the Scavenger stand out like steel cords as he presses in with all his might, Jon can feel his ribs about to break as he holds back the snapping jaws with his good arm.

The creature face is a mass of ruined flesh and broken bone but it still managed to speak.

"I win" it said.

In a matter of seconds the superior strength of the mutant will terminate the human but Jon won't surrender to death, then he lifts his metal arm to his face.

"Gripper online!" he said gasping for breath, but there is no response from his arm, "Online....NOW!"

A faint voice responds to his command, "poooooweeeer failinnnnng" Gripper says.

With his last ounce of strength Jon-29 places his fist against the thick neck of the Scavenger.

"Gripper, Blade!" he shouts.

"Affirm".

Suddenly the arm shoots out its long combat knife penetrating the neckline of the mutant severing its jugular vein and coming out the other side, the Scavenger body stiffens and its eyes focus on the face of the human for a moment then it falls to the floor. Jon stands on shaky legs trying to catch his breath when another blast strikes the control room.

Ignoring the pain in his sides he jumps into the command chair and grabs the controllers, it only takes him a few moments more to recognize the new devices surrounding him.

"All attack system to me" he says confidently.

"Transferring all systems to command driver" Mother replies.

Safe under a large mass of broken stone KT-7 watches the battle as Fixer tends to the Komodo, she can see the huge Earthshaker advancing on the Mega-machine with Jon inside but she can only stand and watch as it is hit again and again by weapons fire. At that moment she would have given anything to stand by her lover's side and die with him if needed but all she could do was offer an appeal to the Goddess.

"Take my life if needed but let him live" she said softly.

It was a short prayer but it held all the emotion that lived within her now, some of the holy men in her tribe might have said it wasn't enough to curry favor with the all-powerful deity but they were only men and would never understand the workings of a young girl's heart.

The Commander had no such emotion; his heart was a mechanical replacement pump that was implanted in him when his chest was damaged by an enemy attack and it always beat the same no matter if he was in a sexual embrace or destroying an adversary.

"Enemy is no longer responding to our attack" the weapons-tec reported, "Tankers are advancing unopposed".

The control room was heavily damaged and thick acid smoke lingered in the air, any other superior officer would have retreated to a safe distance and let the mini-tanks finish the job but the Commander took great pride in being there for the final victory and he wasn't about to let that triumph fall on the shoulders of some programed command driver.

"Continue on course!" he ordered then sat back in his seat and smiled as he waited for the end of his enemy, but the smile soon disappeared as the next report came in from weapons.

"Sir, enemy is attacking".

Jon-29 had returned to the place he was created for, and even with the damage to his hand his movements were precise and deadly.

"Weapons are at sixty percent" Mother reported, "Energy is at forty percent and falling".

"Affirm" Jon replied, "discontinue secondary weapons and channel all remaining power to weapons and maneuvering".

Jon concentrated his highly trained mind on the targeting images on the principal read out screen, and being one of the best combat drivers in central command he was able to anticipate the attack vectors of the Mini-tanks and avoid their fire, he also had multiple level one armaments instead of the single gun his original crawler had and therefor able to target several adversaries at once.

"Coordinate your fire!" the Commander screamed, "what's the snafu?"

"Target is moving too rapidly" the Weapons-tec reported, "Their weapons fire is more accurate than ours".

"Destruction of forward levels six through nine" Damage control reported, "repairs units unable to maintain cohesion".

But the Commander was too consumed by battle-madness and nothing was going to detour him.

"Continue attack!" He shouted.

"Enemy tankers have been destroyed" Mother reported, "But energy is at thirty percent and falling".

"Understood" Jon replied, "Channel all remaining energy to forward locomotion", he knew that there wasn't enough power left to destroy central command with weapons fire, but there might be another way to save KT-7, "setting vector to intercept enemy, full power to drive engines".

"If we continue on this vector we will collide with the enemy" Mother said.

"Affirm" Jon replied.

It was now clear to the main program that her child intended to ram central control and destroy it along with himself, she also knew it he was doing it to insure the escape of the female Outrider.

"My short range scanners indicate that the female has not terminated" she said softly.

"Understood, Jon said as he took his hands off the controls and sat back in his chair, "Mother?"

"Yes?"

"Will you tell me a story?" Jon asked.

"Affirm" Mother replied with a voice that Jon had never heard before, it was soft and gentle, "the main system components of a J.O.N. armored fighting vehicle are as follows, One, driver unit, a bio-humanoid highly trained in the full use of the all offensive and defensive weaponry. Second is the multi-task, over-view, hyper-active, error-null repair unit or Mother, next is the weapons array, the main gun is a faze projector multiplane weapon with a maximum effective range of thirty-nine mils depending on air density and terrain, there are also other main control systems, Power and Weapons, Power is responsible for....".

"Mother?" Jon said closing his eyes.

"Yes Jon" Mother replied.

"Was I a good boy?"

"Affirm" the Main controller replied, "You have made me very proud".

The two monster war-machines were on a collision course, the Armageddon continued to pound the Mega-tank with all its weapons blasting away huge junks of armor plating and destroying its armaments, but it still remained on vector.

"Sir, enemy is no longer returning weapons fire" the Technician reported.

"Then we have him!" the Commander shouted as he rose from his chair, "concentrate fire on target and destroy it!"

But the Weapons-tec responded quickly, "Sir, our weapons can't stop it, it's on a vector to collision".

Finally the superior officer understood why the enemy was not returning fire; they were going to ram him.

"Hard over!" the Commander screamed, "Maximum speed!"

But it was too late, the huge war-machine was just too massive to escape the oncoming destruction and knowing this the superior officer watched the scanner screen as the enemy made contact.

"YEAAAAAAAAA!" he shouted as the control room burst into flames around him, feeling his body dissolving the Commander finally had to admit that he encountered his last snafu.

Jon-29 felt the impact and was thrown forward but he managed to hold on and fell back in his chair, quickly the room began to fill with smoke and flames and in a matter of moments he would be consumed in the fire, an ordinary human would have screamed in terror but Jon had died many times before so he just sat there waiting for the end and thinking of KT-7 and what she had told him of Lands-End.

"A place of peace and plenty" he said softly, and then the floor began to buckle.

But Mother wasn't about to see her child terminate.

"You must survive!" she called out one last time.

In an instant thick armor plating surrounds the command chair incasing Jon-29 in a cocoon of protection, but just before it closes he reaches out with his mechanical arm.

"Mother!" he cries out then with a loud "snap" the plating incases him cutting off his replacement appendage.

A terrific blast fills the chamber and everything disintegrate in a cataclysm of fire and steel, its sets of a chain reaction throughout the entire Mega-machine, energy cells erupted, armaments explode ripping apart bulkheads and hull plating, and this transferred to the Earthshaker that had ground to halt with its side crushed in like a Call-birds egg. Now its power center begins to fracture sending out great ribbons of energy that cut through armor plating like a phase cannon, the forward segment of the war-machine burst apart and the remaining subdivisions follow one by one, weapons storage, replacement parts and robotics, food supply and dispersal, all are engulfed in searing flames, those poor souls trapped inside the dying machine cried out but there was no one to come to their aid and they died with their creator. Finally with one last burst of energy the two combatants disappeared in a mass of melted steel and fire.

KT-7 watched unmoving as the huge machines crumpled to the ground, she had seen it all and she knew that she would never see her companion again, being a warrior of the Outlands she had witnessed many of her comrades and friends die, she was there when her mother perished and held her in her arms and looked into her eyes as she pasted into the Afterlife, she had sat with wounded friends as they gave up their lives defending their people, but this was different, she didn't know why but the tears that she was now shedding were more than just remorse, they came from a place deep within her heart, a place that she never knew existed.

As the shimmering sun began to die alone figure walked through the smoldering embers that were once the most powerful mechanisms ever created, she moved slowly as if searching for something, something that would give comfort to her but she found only bits of burned metal and fragments of useless machinery.

After a time KT-7 sat down on a crushed bulkhead and looked out over the vast field of jagged metal and broken rock, she saw only small creatures darting in and out of hiding, each one searching for some scrap of food that might sustain them for another day, the young girl watched them for a time then slowly rose to her feet, she took off her helmet and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, then she pulled the headgear over her hair and was about to turn away when she heard a faint "beeping" sound. Turning her head from side to side she zeroed in on her target and quickly followed the signal.

Before Jon-29 had jumped from the Komodo KT wisely attached a tracking device to his metal arm, now she hoped that it would lead her to her companion or what was left of him, she moved in and out of smoking remains always following the trackers signal, the "beeping" grew louder and her steps quickened as did her heartbeats, then she rounded a corner and there sticking out of the ruble was Jon's metal arm. With renewed hope she began pulling away fragments of hot steel ignoring the pain in her hands, then grasping the metallic appendage with hers she pulled with all her strength.

The arm broke from the ground but it was only an arm with nothing attached to it.

KT-7 held the attachment to her chest and starts to weep, she knows that there is no hope that she will ever find her companion, her lover again.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry" she whispers over and over, and then still holding the replacement arm she begins to walk back the way she came.

Then a faint sound is heard, a low metallic sound like a small machine, KT sets the mechanical arm down and draws her knife wishing that she had brought her rifle but how could she have known that there was any danger in a land of the dead. Hesitantly she moved forward ready to defend herself, the strange sound continues and then she sees what is making the noise.

There laying in a mass of twisted steel is a large metal egg, it's as tall as two men and the surface is pitted and burned, the sound it makes is from the thick plating on its outsides as the cooling air of nightfall begins to surround it. Slowly KT moves forward and reaches out with her hand to touch it but before that can happen there is a loud hissing sound and a cloud of pressurized gas then the egg begins to open, KT-7 holds her weapon ready to fire on her enemy if needed then she sees what is inside.

Jon-29 sits in his command chair with his eyes closed, he looks dead, KT drops her weapon and rushes to his side and holds his head in her arms, and she begins to shower him with kisses.

"Jon, Jon," she repeats, "stay with me, don't leave me to wander alone, come back to me, I need you....I love you!"

Jon slowly opens his eyes and looks at her.

"Mating procedures?" he says weakly.

Chapter 8.

Lands-End.

At the last moment Mother had incased her child in an escape pod that she had constructed from salvaged parts, she did this to insure the survival of Jon-29 even if she herself was destroyed, her wisdom and her love proved their worth and now Jon and KT stood beside the Komodo ready to begin their journey once more.

"You are injured" KT said, "you must take time to repair yourself, I will command drive and you will ride behind me".

"My injuries are not terminal" Jon replied, "I will survive, you need rest and I have learned enough to control the beast".

"Control of a Komodo takes two hands" she responded, then she looked down at Jon severed arm; "until you are fully repaired I will command drive".

Jon said nothing then looked over at Fixer in the tail-gunner seat tinkering with his metal arm, "No" Jon said, "my right arm is strong and you are the one injured".

"Incorrect" the girl replied, "I will be in command of the Komodo, and you should...."

Jon-29 lifted his good arm putting an end to the argument, "here are my terms, I will command drive and you will...."

Now it was KT-7's turn, she put her hand over his lips and looked him in the eyes, "here are my terms" then she kissed him hard and deep, after a time they parted and she smiled at him, "agreed?" she asked.

Jon smiled back, "agreed".

It was a short time later when the fully loaded war-beast slowly made its way across the landscape heading for a low range of mountains in the distance.

"I still think you are incorrect when you say that human replacements come from females, "Jon said riding behind KT-7, "their bodies are substandard for constructing infants; I will be shown to be without error on this information".

But KT shook her head as she held the reins, "Negative metal head, my intel is superior".

"You have information at hand to prove your theory?"

"Affirmative" KT said nodding her head, "as I tried to tell you before construction activity are already underway".

"Explanation is required".

But the young girl only laughed, "Explaining female reproduction to you would be....complicated".

Jon doesn't reply for a time, "is our vector still on a heading to Lands-End?"

"Affirm" she says.

"And when is arrival period?" Jon asks.

"I don't have that intel" she replies.

The young man looks at the mountain range ahead of them, "is there a clear passage through those rock formations?"

KT has had enough and she pulls up on the reins and the Komodo comes to a halt, she jumps down from her saddle and looks up at Jon, "you drive!" she yells.

There is a long pause as Jon considers her words, "No" he finally says, "our terms are set and agreed, you are the command driver...for now".

After a moment KT-7 climbs back in her saddle and they continue forward, Jon puts his right arm around KT-7's waist and whispers in her ear, "in case you fall".

Kt-7 seven knew that the changes of her falling off the war-beast were minuscule but the feel of Jon's strong arm holding her kept her from replying.

Hanging from the command saddle of the Komodo is a carry sack, inside it is the hologram machine containing the old man and all his vast wisdom, he would be needed when they finally reached their destination in the Land of Peace and Plenty, but ahead of them is a long journey filled with dangers undreamed of.

Sitting in his tail-gunner position Fixer has managed to repair Gripper enough so that the mechanical arm is able to speak, "my memory core has been damaged, what recent events am I unaware of?"

The little man just shakes his head, "everything broke, but now all systems are functioning efficiently".

"Where is my human connection?" the replacement arm asked.

Fixer turned and saw that Jon was busy lip-pressing the neck of KT-7, "he is trying to initiate mating procedures again".

"Humans are very strange creatures" Gripper commented.

"On that data we can agree" replied the Pig-man.

Entel termination.

