The Savage Brawl [Round 5: Battletopia]

Kriok Searae was hard at work. She had spent the whole day disassembling a broken toaster, and had just begun installing the usable parts in her current project. She'd been working on it for months, but if all went well, she could finish it tonight.

So of course, just as she'd settled in, the communications node started beeping. Why did her job always have to get in the way when she was working.

Kriok walked over to her desk and answered the call.

"Kriok Searae, Supervisor, N-District," she grumbled. "Make it quick, I'm in the middle of something."

"Supervisor, this is Michelle Davis, Containment Squad Epsilon. We were responding to a disturbance reported by district resident Jordan Smith..."

"This doesn't sound much like getting to the point, Davis."

"My apologies, Supervisor. The disturbance turned out to be only a lost dog. There is nothing wrong here."

"Of course it's nothing," Kriok grumbled. "This is N-District. Nothing ever happens here. Nobody even gets sent here in the first place unless Kracht decides they're too boring to go anywhere else."

"I'm sorry for bothering you, but protocol..."

"I know, I know. Your report is acknowledged, now get on with whatever you were doing. Searae out."

Kriok ended the call promptly. She still had work to do.

***

"It is done, Soulmother," Michelle said. "The watcher in the tower suspects nothing."

well done, child

guard Aph well, though I doubt you will be gone long

"Of course, Soulmother. I will not allow her to come to harm."

Michelle and Aph drove off, leaving Ajota to focus on the more immediate matters. Most of her children were hard at work building up the barricade or finding more weapons.

She called the two curfew officers to her, as they were the most experienced fighters available. They were an odd pair; one was heavily built and wore a suit of armor, the other was quite thin and wore a standard uniform. The larger man's hair and beard were immaculately groomed, the smaller man's was a wiry mess.

Of course, none of that mattered to Ajota; she loved all her children, however they appeared.

Cedric and Tor, my newest children, we have one more task to take care of

the watcher toils in her tower, ignorant of all we have done

but she will not remain so

she may call the city against us before we are ready

"She will not once she knows of your love, Soulmother," Tor replied.

that is my hope, child

however, there is still much to coordinate here and so I cannot go myself

bring her to me

"That shouldn't be much of a problem," Cedric said with a laugh.

thank you, my children

I await your return in earnest

The tower was right in the middle of the district, and easy enough to walk to. Cedric looked at the large steel door leading inside, and sneered.

"As if that door can keep me out."

"There's no need for excessive force," Tor said. "Our keycards give us access to all the monitoring towers in the city." He pulled his out.

"You always have to take the fun out of everything," Cedric grumbled.

"We don't want to alert her," Tor replied. "She might contact central command, and that's exactly what we're trying to avoid." He swiped his card

An unpleasant beep told him it hadn't been accepted.

"A fine plan, my friend," Cedric sneered. "Just look at how much access we have now!"

"She must have modified the lock. I can try to disable it..."

"And keep our Soulmother waiting?" Cedric sneered. "I think not. Let a real man handle it."

He backed up a few feet and charged at the door. It broke off its hinges and fell to the floor, badly dented.

Then the alarm sounded.

"A flawless plan," Tor sighed. "Truly, Soulmother would be greatly impressed with your tactical prowess."

Cedric picked himself up.

"It got us inside, didn't it? Anyhow, it's no real problem. We'll just get to her before she calls for help."

Tor simply pointed at the keycard slot next to the elevator. Cedric scowled at him, and began running up the long, twisting stairway to the top.

***

Frustrated, Kriok put away her tools again. Clearly, one interruption tonight wasn't enough.

She grabbed her javelin launcher and headed down the elevator, still annoyed. Even if the alarm were just an equipment malfunction, she'd have to spend the whole day tomorrow filling out paperwork and answering questions.

The elevator doors opened, and a thin, wiry-haired man with rusted skin stood before her. Judging by his uniform, he was a curfew officer.

"Last time I checked, violating curfew meant being outside, not inside," Kriok grumbled. "What are you doing here?"

"My partner and I were in the area. We heard the alarm, and when we came to investigate, we found that." Tor pointed to the crumpled door lying on the ground. "My partner is currently heading up the stairs, hoping to catch the perpetrator. Personally, I have my doubts about its effectiveness."

"Ugh. Great. That means even more paperwork in the morning." She paused. "Wait, why didn't you call me first? Why did I have to come all the way down here to find out what was going on?"

"Ah, yes. That would have been a good idea. My apologies, Supervisor; my partner is a bit of a show-off, and I let his antics distract me. It completely slipped my mind to call you first."

"Wonderful. Your partner had better move fast; I don't want to report in to the central office until this mess is sorted through."

"So you haven't called in yet?" Tor asked.

"Not yet. I don't want to talk to those idiots any more than I have to."

"I can understand that. I have to fill in a report every night, even when nothing happens. Usually I end up filling in Cedric's report, too."

"Well, I'm heading back to my office," Kriok grumbled, turning back towards the elevator. "Call me when you catch the intruder."

Tor tackled her to the ground the moment her back was turned.

***

"I ran up fifteen flights of stairs for nothing," Cedric grumbled. "And why do I have to carry her?"

"Oh come on, she can't be that heavy for the mighty Sir Cedric."

"I didn't even get a good fight out of it," Cedric continued, ignoring Tor. "All I got to do was break down a door."

They soon returned to the main street, where Ajota was still directing operations. She turned to them, a joyful look in her eyes.

you have returned, children

rouse the watcher, so that I may speak to her

Cedric dropped Kriok on the ground and kicked her as gently as he could manage. It was still enough to make her howl in pain.

"What's going on here? Who are you... wait, you're that curfew officer! But who's the bearded idiot? And who's the ant..." Her voice trailed off. She picked herself up. "Was this really needed, Soulmother? I was working on something."

Ajota was taken aback; no child had ever spoken to her with that tone. She had seen some reject her love, but the watcher had not; and yet, she seemed largely unchanged by the experience. How was this possible?

you must be confused, my child, Ajota replied, trying to hide her own worries. you are with family now...

"That doesn't change the fact I have to send a report in to the central office," Kriok grumbled. "In fact, why did you bring me all the way out here? You could have at least shut the alarm off first!"

do not be angry, my child

you are safe, you are with us now

"I'll be as angry as I like, Soulmother!" She stormed back towards the tower, leaving her new family befuddled.

her mind is a maze, even to me

I can see that she knows of our love, and she will not betray it, but all else is clouded to me

"It might be because of her cybernetic parts," Tor suggested. "If she's got any neural augmentations, they might interfere with your message. That could keep the full power of it away from her."

then, if we were to remove those parts, perhaps she would welcome us fully

"Could be, but that's tricky work. You'd need a really good neurosurgeon to do it, and I don't think we have any in the family."

then find one, my child

it pains me to see her suffering

***

"Just a malfunction then, Searae?" Lieutenant Zimmer glanced at the viewscreen. "What was the problem, exactly?"

"I haven't worked that out yet," Kriok grumbled. "I got tired of the noise and just shot the damn thing." She held up her javelin launcher. "I'll take a look at it in the morning and give a full report then."

"You really should report these disturbances right away, Searae," Zimmer said, fully aware that she wouldn't. "And what if there's a real intrusion tonight?"

"Two curfew officers heard the alarm and came by to investigate," Kriok replied nonchalantly. "I've got them watching the entrance, since their shift is over now."

"I don't suppose you caught their names or ID numbers," Zimmer sighed.

"Ask me in the morning. I'm getting some sleep."

She promptly hung up before Zimmer could make any comments about how surprised he was that she ever slept.

She didn't actually need sleep, of course. Which was just as well; she had to finish her project soon, even if it meant cutting a few corners. There had been too many interruptions already, and there would soon be another when Soulmother sent someone to check on her.

Ten minutes later, she heard a knock on her office door. She quickly attached one last bolt and hoped it would be enough.

Thirty seconds after that, Cedric burst in. He was screaming something, but Kriok couldn't hear his words over the sound of her new jetpack starting up.

She fired a spike from her javelin launcher at the closest window, and flew off.