KETTY'S SUBDIVISION Wattys2017

Chapter 23-Part VIII

"I'm alright," Ketty said into her communicator. Then she saw Rayleen holding back while she tried desperately to catch up. Suddenly the debris cleared and they were in a massive pocket of empty space with a thousand stray rocks surrounding their position.

"Look!" screamed Scott.

They all saw it at once, the moon sized chunk of rock floating lazily in front of them. Then a massive strike of lightning formed a hole in space and one of the Mc'kee ships loaded with robots came through unobstructed. A door the size of a small city was already opened and the ship maneuvered perfectly into the cavern, disappearing before they got close enough to sneak in.

What seemed a lazy rotation from a distance increased as they drew near. The asteroid spun at a dizzying speed on its axis, and within minutes a structure could be seen coming into view over the horizon.

"There," yelled Bakes over the intercom as he dove for the surface on a precise intercept course. If they miscalculated the velocity, the small tower would pass them by and it would be another hour before it came around again. With odd visual references the depth perception was all wrong here and Ketty could see he was going to miss his target, despite his best intentions.

"Veer right!" Ketty screamed but she could see he was off course. The others followed her lead, but Bakes was done for. "Rayjack, can you reach him?"

"I'll do my best, Miss Ketty." They all landed on the small ledge in time to see Rayjack in the distance. Shadows rose and fell in the crazy light filtering through the asteroids, causing Rayjack to diminish quickly in the distance though Ketty hoped he wasn't as far as he seemed. He clung to the small ski and tried to assist Bakes in a desperate scramble to reach the ledge, but there wasn't enough thrust and it seemed as if they were traveling backwards until Rayjack finally punched his fist through the canopy and pulled Bakes from the cockpit. Meanwhile, Mikenzy stood at the door and operated the lock which meant freedom. Ketty turned her back on Rayjack long enough to see everyone entering the strange base, then Bakes was there, standing next to her by some miracle of fate.

"I'll lead next time, you idiot." She pushed him through the door and followed close behind, but what awaited them was more than they bargained for. The others stood in shocked silence at the scene below, where a cavern the size of a city sprawled out below them, stretching infinitely into the distance. It was impossible to see the other side which caused her mind to buckle slightly as her brain tried to catch up with reality. Below was an expansive white floor, clean and precise that was covered by a robot army the likes of which no one had ever seen. Row upon row of newly manufactured bots stood at perfect attention, as if Deity himself was about to come down and order them into action. It made the Barn look like a kindergarten play set and Ketty staggered a bit, her breath catching in her chest. Her face grew hot and she could feel blood pounding in her temples. She was used to impressive sizes and marvels of engineering, but this was closer to home, closer to her heart. It was the definitive robot training facility which her father had kept secret from her. The weight of that betrayal weighed heavily on Ketty's heart, but she pushed it aside, unable to confront that reality now.

There was a curvature to the floor, and from this vantage, she began to realize the robots continued around and up the inside of the egg shaped asteroid. In the distance, the white rows of shiny bots blurred into a haze that vanished where the human eye was unable to see anymore.

"Holy friggin crap," said Bakes, apparently unfazed by his near death experience.

"I knew about this place, from conversations my father had, but I never realized how beautiful it would be," Mikenzy marveled, sounding like a little girl.

"It even stretches my imagination, and I was aware of its existence," Purline said with imitated emotion.

Where they stood was a small sconce protruding from the inner edge of the asteroid, with stairs leading down to the floor below. When Ketty looked, Bakes was already among the bots, kneeling down before them and inserting a small chip he had from his own family. The bot he had chosen came out of hibernation and turned beady eyes down on its new master. The sound could be heard up on the balcony, as dormant servo motors and frozen Burnite joints clicked and whirred. Then the bot bowed low upon one knee, like a knight of the round table, in all awe and reverence. He clicked his heels and stood before Bakes, taking his hand and examining his facial features. Bakes didn't flinch as his new robot took a skin sample and stored it for future reference, permanently bonding on a genetic level.

Then there was a scream from far off in the distance.

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