Runtime Error

Chapter 19

The Burrow, Level 8

<< RUNTIME ERROR - PRIMARY CORE UNAVAILABLE - SECONDARY CORE ACTIVATED >>

I 'awoke' face down on the grass covered ground of the Burrow, my body tucked into what would be the foetal position for a human. For a Sentinel it was referred to as 'Optimal storage configuration' when we were being shipped long distance but it was pretty much the same thing.

My limbs unfolded smoothly as I rose to my feet, swinging my head in a full circle as I quickly examined the surroundings. The dormitory building had fallen silent, the exterior lights extinguished in the aftermath of the double pulse that Oscar Haynes had unleashed.

There was movement near the airlock door that led to the outside tunnels, a small group of figures making a hurried escape. I figured I had been down for close to sixty seconds, the heavy EMP strike forcing my system to take longer to reboot.

If I ran I could catch Bo Sung-Tae and his fleeing Redbacks but I had no idea how long I would remain in charge of my body. At any point the black oil infused into the primary core could recover and force me out of the main system, meaning I had one chance to do something that mattered.

I skirted around the hexagonal building, bringing the assault rifle into firing position against my left shoulder. The internal smart link for the gun had been fried so I reverted to aiming the rifle the old fashioned way, sighting down the barrel with my left sensor.

In general, Sentinels operate their weapons in a right handed grip, the same as ninety percent of Organics. However, all Sentinels are actually ambidextrous and can function with equal efficiency using right or left handed grips. It helped that the standard assault rifles we were issued with could be used in either hand, a feature of all modern weapons in fact.

The door to the storage room stood ajar with no light or noises coming from within. I gently pushed the door open with one hand, the barrel of the rifle leading the way inside. The sight that greeted me was not the one I had feared. I had not even expected such a scene and I stood stock still in surprise for a good few seconds.

"Mmmmmpppfff?" mumbled the gagged and bound figure of Matron Amanda King. She was lying on her side, arms tied securely against her back, with her metal legs wrapped in a choke hold around the neck of the Redback who had been guarding her.

I knelt beside the ganger and observed his motionless body with my thermographic vision.

"You can release him, Amanda. He is quite dead by now"

"Mmtthrrffkkr!" she growled but opened her legs, allowing the Redback's corpse to slump to the concrete floor of the hut. I reached across and undid the gag, noting she still had the white collar around her neck and the dead ganger had the trigger clutched limply in one hand.

"I am surprised he did not activate the device" I observed as the Matron stood, presenting her back to me. I slung my rifle and quickly released her hands from the plastic zip ties that had secured her.

"Bastard certainly tried to" Amanda responded curtly, facing me once more as she rubbed at the deep red marks on her wrists. "Soon as things kicked off inside, he decided I was too much trouble to watch over"

She reached up to her neck and savagely tore the collar loose, throwing it over the Redback's corpse.

"He was quite shocked to find out the collar wasn't working anymore" Amanda continued. "Guess he never knew my Inducer could short out something that close to my skin"

Amanda regarded me quizzically by the faint light coming from outside.

"Speaking of which, how come you are David and not Unit Seventy Three?"