Chapter Eighteen
Every morning, AD-214 had a few moments of privacy. There was a short period when he was awake, but his systems were still booting up, and that time was his own. He blinked as he stared up at the sunshine filtering down through the tall pines surrounding him. His body wouldn’t move. The cybernetic implant controlling his somatic nervous system was not active yet, but he was content to see the world without the busy interface overlaying his vision. Typically he saw a brightly colored assemblage of boxes and windows that constantly analyzed everything and processed the environment. For a minute, he could see the world around him naturally and without hindrance.
Since the rest of Blue Squad had arrived, he had not bothered taking shelter in the small cave in the nearby bluffs. He slept under the stars with the other cyborgs. He knew, somehow, that even though they were not programmed to sleep in the open, it would be a good experience for them. As he watched tree branches swaying in the early morning breeze, saw a bird flitting about with its mate, and smelled the earthy scent of the ground underneath him, he knew he was right. He could hear the sounds of the other soldiers rousing and the murmurs of idle chat amongst them.
His interface took effect like it didn’t want to be left out. The center of his vision was instantly occupied by a large, bright green rectangle, muffling the natural colors of the woods. The electronic lime-green of his visual interface overlaid the pale cerulean of the sky, the vivid emerald of the pine branches, and the glittering shafts of golden light which filtered through them. A red alert box blinked up in the corner, and AD-214 activated it. He knew it was his internal calendar, telling him that today was the day they would rescue Amanda. As ready as he was for this mission, he was still intrigued by the fact that he didn’t need the calendar. He knew what day it was without reminding.
The biomechanical processors were now active. As AD-214 sat up, the cyborg captain ignored the facial recognition software that told him he was surrounded by his teammates, sitting by the burnt remains of a campfire. Part of him wanted to be able to deactivate that part of himself. There was no need for constant identification of his communications specialist and the other men in Blue Squad. But he knew the recognition might be useful as they headed toward the military hospital.
ND-45, the weapons specialist, trudged out of the woods and toward the campfire. He held the ears of several rabbits in his meaty fist. “I’ve got breakfast,” he said in his usual dour tone.
AD-214 nodded gratefully and moved to stoke the fire again. When he had called his men to return, he didn’t think ND-45 would respond. The soldier had made it clear that he didn’t trust humans, including Amanda Conrad. But he had come to understand how important she was, and AD-214 was sure that utilizing his skills at gathering food was his way of apologizing to the rest of his squad. ND-45 sat down and began skinning the rabbits earnestly.
“I think we have everything ready to go,” PD-4 said nervously, as he sat down next to his captain. The young surveillance specialist had been restless during the night. “I tapped into a local weather camera placed right outside Cyborg Sector, which gave me a good view of the military hospital for the last several hours. It looks like they’re going to hold the press conference in front of the building. They’re already setting up a podium.”
AD-214 nodded. “And what about security?”
The young officer shook his head. “It’s hard to tell at this hour, sir. The only people I’ve seen are lackeys getting the stage ready and a sound guy in charge of running the microphones. I haven’t seen any extra security measures yet.”
“You can bet that will change before they bring her outside of those doors,” AD-214 warned. “Everyone gather around. I want to go over things one more time.”
His soldiers responded quickly, moving toward him. He motioned for them to sit on the various rocks and logs they had collected in their camping space. There was no point in wasting even the smallest amount of energy; they would need it later today.
“As we discussed last night, I have no doubt that they will be using cyborg clones at the press conference today. Cyborg Sector has yet to activate any other squads since our escape, and I don’t think they will. It’s too risky for them if they don’t know what happened to us. They need soldiers they can control without fear of any repercussions. Even though we expect resistance, we must remember the strength of Red Squad.”
AD-214 studied the faces of his men. In their expressions, he could see them remembering their brothers who had fallen in the attack on the warehouse. It was the first battle where cyborgs had fought themselves, and it had affected them deeply. Blue Squad had lost half its numbers and been forced to flee for their lives. Worst of all, they hadn’t been able to protect Amanda, letting the enemy capture her.
“We’ve planned as well as we can,” he continued, “but we have to be ready for surprises. We have to be able to think on our own, even if we don’t have any commands waiting in our systems for us. It’s going to be difficult. You aren’t used to operating like this, especially since we have to be covert. Most of you know how to fight openly. I have to warn you again that an all-out battle is only an option when everything else has failed.”
The cyborgs nodded their understanding, but AD-214 wasn’t certain they were all on the same page. How could he know if a free-thinking cyborg would make the right decisions? The scientists hadn’t programmed them for independent thought.
“Let me see your uniforms.”
The men lined up in front of him for inspection. Their camouflage combat gear had been modified surprisingly well considering that they’d had to pilfer their materials from nearby residences. AD-214 didn’t like stealing, but it wasn’t like they could find sewing needles and thread growing in the forest. His soldiers had only borrowed from homes that were unoccupied, with their owners busy at work or the grocery store. They only took what they needed.
The resulting modifications were a removal of the blue badges that marked them as part of Blue Squad. In their place were squares of red material. After some debate, they had also removed the identification numbers underneath the colored badges. It was possible someone might recognize the designation of one of the rogue cyborgs. Although they couldn’t replace their identifiers with valid call-signs from Red Squad, it was better than nothing.
They didn’t have the equipment to modify their individual features such as varying heights, weights, and appearance that characterized them as different cyborgs instead of clones. AD-214 and his men could only hope that nobody would look at them too closely until they had an opportunity to execute their plan.
“Does anybody have any questions?” the cyborg captain asked as he studied his squad. They looked tired, uncertain, and worried, yet there was a gleam of determination in their eyes that told him the plan would be successful. It had to work. They were going to get Amanda back, no matter what.
“All right, then, let’s move out. PD-67 will lead the way until we get close, but after that everyone will have to go on their own. Our communication systems will have to stay off-line. Make sure you know what you’re doing. Once we get there, there will be no time for uncertainties.”
The soldiers of Blue Squad nodded and fell into formation behind their leader. The navigation specialist easily led the way through the forest. They crossed through streams and skirted around bluffs, but they never ran into anything they couldn’t handle. PD-67 had planned the route carefully.
AD-214 felt a sense of trepidation rising in his chest as they neared the city limits. Would Dr. Feldman and Cyborg Sector be watching for them? What would they do if their scheme failed? They couldn’t fail. They only had one chance, and he knew it.
Soon enough, the group emerged from the wilderness at the back of the compound that contained Cyborg Sector, the military hospital, and other government buildings. Each building had a private security force. Blue Squad did not have to penetrate an outer wall like they would if the compound were a military base. Despite the lower security, they still had to make their way individually over to the front of the hospital, ending up at the press conference location. Someone would ask questions if they saw a large group of soldiers going somewhere.
AD-214 nodded to ND-45, who had volunteered to be the first one to enter. The captain and the surveillance specialist would be the last ones inside. AD-214 was too recognizable now that his face had been plastered all over the news. PD-4 was needed to plan the invasion tactically as they slowly infiltrated the ranks of the cyborg clones.
The captain watched with impatience as his men slowly separated and entered the compound from different sides. Nobody was stopped or questioned. He hoped the rest of the day would be this easy.