Luyten V - Chapter 13
Roseâs stomach turned as she took the sudden right turn, her laser beam primed. Dirt went flying as Luyten Vâs heels dug deep furrows in the ground. She adjusted the targeting computer, her fingers blurring as she made lightning-quick adjustments.
âFire.â The beam lanced from Luyten Vâs forehead gem, the target bursting into flames as her attack struck it dead on. With a quick adjustment to the targeting computer, the drone sneaking up behind her exploded.
âPhew.â Her console reported all targets neutralized. Rose wiped away the sweat on her forehead. Her mind felt sluggish, exhausted by the demands of the training.
âNice work, Rose,â Sandage said, pleased. âThatâs enough for tonight.â
âHow did I do?â Rose asked as Luyten Vâs tentacles deposited her on the warehouse floor.
âAll thirty targets destroyed with a 67 percent accuracy rate. Well done,â Sandage said, checking his tablet.
âI just hope itâll be enough.â Theyâd run this obstacle course for over four hours today, with each subsequent obstacle becoming more difficult. She accepted the water bottle a tech person offered her.
âI know,â Sandage said, his tone solemn. âBut I have some good news. Weâre ready to attach the enhancement I told you about.â
âFor Project: Bird Bath? Will it actually do anything?â Rose asked. Like any military in a monster movie, their efforts hadnât been very effective.Â
âThatâs why weâre testing it,â Sandage replied. âGold is confident in its success. Though the Altair structure is odd and doesnât comply with what science currently knows about biology.â
From what Rose understood, the structure of the Altair that came with Luyten V and the scout that attacked Washington, D.C., were different. This made developing a counteragent challenging, though Doctor von Fraunhofer had promised theyâd made some major breakthrough in understanding the Altair. Theyâd just have to pray their efforts would be good enough. Only two days remained until the fated day of Okabâs attack.
âI want some ice cream or something,â Rose complained. With all this stress and uncertainty, she deserved a treat, darn it all!
This earned a smile from Sandage. âSure, my treat. Thereâs a place on Main, right? I think they should still be open.â
---
âHow are you holding up?â Sandage asked as they picked at their ice cream. Rose had taken two scoops of strawberry and mint, while Sandage had cotton candy and cookies and cream. Gauss got his own ice cream too, but heâd gotten a chocolate malt instead.
âHolding,â Rose replied, though it wasnât hard to detect the stress in her voice.
âThatâs good,â Sandage said, not pushing the issue. With Okabâs attack imminent, he knew his charge was under a great deal of pressure. Rose herself wasnât sure. âStrainedâ was the best way to describe it, she supposed.Â
They licked their treats in silence before she finally spoke. âHowâs Brown doing?â
âHis hospital stay ended two days ago. Heâs staying with his sister while he recovers. She lives close by. Though itâll be weeks until he returns to duty.â
âGood. I miss him.â While Gauss was nice enough, he wasnât the same as Brownâs calm, protective presence. Pity there wasnât time to visit him. If she survived the next few days, sheâd insist on seeing him.Â
A sudden flash in her memory reminded her of something: Stella was doing a karaoke stream tonight in about five minutes. Rose opened her mouth to ask to be brought home, but she closed it. While part of her wanted to rush off to watch her favorite VTuber, she couldnât leave Sandage hanging. Besides, it was only one stream. Sheâd watch the VOD later.
âBesides, Stella doesnât even know I exist, really.â Rose thought. And the occasional Superchat didnât change that. But Sandage and Gaussâthey were real, tangible. With danger lurking nearby, sheâd rather hang out with real people.
âIs something the matter?â Sandage asked.
âDonât worry about it,â Rose replied. âThinking about it, what did you do before this Altair nonsense? If itâs not super classified, of course.â
âThe truth? My life wasnât all that exciting. I mostly did intelligence work. Helped local police solve certain crimes, that sort of thing.â
Roseâs eyes lit up with interest. âLike hunt down serial killers?â
Sandage released an amused snort. âSomeoneâs been listening to too many true-crime podcasts.â
This earned a blush from Rose. âWell, no. But Vera loves talking about them. And weird cults. I have no clue why she finds them so fascinating.â
They joked and talked, and Rose relaxed. She found it nice to learn how ordinary Sandage was, and how they had both gotten thrust into this craziness. As they spoke, a call interrupted their conversation.
âSorry, Rose, but I need to answer this.â Sandage turned away to address his phone. Rose shrugged and tossed away the bowl sheâd used for her ice cream. Her curiosity peaked as Sandage became more excited.
âWhatâs going on?â Rose asked.
âFinally, some good news!â Sandage said, alight with happiness.
âDonât keep me in suspense. What is it?â
Sandage lowered his voice to a whisper. âLuyten Vâs new weapon is close to completion. They pushed ahead the schedule, and it should be ready for testing tomorrow.â
âPerfect!â Still, the device was only a prototype. How it performed in the field remained to be seen. Still, sheâd take any good news. âWe should get another ice cream to celebrate!â
---
âCareless.â Okab shook his head, amused at how his prey seemed oblivious to the danger lurking amongst them. Rose and a big man were sharing some treat in a shop, talking and laughing amongst themselves. Okab got closer, straining his ears to eavesdrop on their conversation. He was careful to remain casual. Another big man was keeping an eye out for trouble, trained to spot danger.
âTypical human chatter,â Okab said, annoyed. Why didnât humans talk about anything interesting? They would rather babble about nothing. Were they completely ignoring the threat he posed? Rose appeared too relaxed for someone with the cloud of danger hanging over her head.
âHumans.â Okab rolled his eyes. Still, he didnât move to attack. Police and military had increased their presence in the city, prepared for any trouble. There wasnât any guarantee heâd destroy Rose before they intervened and she escaped. Besides, despite his fellow generalâs impatience, Okab wasnât in any hurry to attack. Part of him was curious about what defenses the humans might devise to counteract him.
âWhat a frivolous girl,â Though Okab, heâd observed most girls her age acted that way. It amazed him how human children seemed oblivious to the troubles of their world, living in a naĂŻve fantasy. He turned to leave when a snippet of conversation caught his ear.
âLuyten Vâs new weapon is close to completion. They pushed ahead the schedule, and it should be ready for testing tomorrow,â the big man said. Heâd spoken low enough that none of the nearby humans should hear him. However, he hadnât counted on Okabâs keen senses.
Okab walked away, a pep in his step. A new weapon? Fascinating! And they were testing it tomorrow? A grin stretched across his disguised face. How about he gave them a true field test tomorrow? While Okab was patient, he wasnât that patient. No point playing around any longer if this weapon didnât turn the tide.
---
Rose adjusted her controls, aligning everything properly for when they attached Luyten Vâs new weapon. The action took little effort, her fingers working automatically. While Rose wanted to claim it was due to the heavy-duty training sheâd undergone, it was more like the pair of them had gained a symbiotic link. She was at ease in Luyten Vâs cockpit, perceiving it as an extension of her body rather than a mechanical device.
Since theyâd started her training in earnest, Rose had developed a stronger connection to Luyten V. It had only taken a simple mental command to summon it to her side and pull her into the cockpit. She wondered if she could summon it from across town? It flared her curiosity about how their mental link worked. Was it because Luyten V recognized her DNA, or some other connection? Even after weeks of study, the scientists barely understood how their link worked.
âSometimes I wonder if youâre really even a robot,â Rose mused.
âSorry?â Sandage asked.
âNothing. Iâm ready on my end,â Rose replied. âYou can show the surprise alreadyâstop keeping me in suspense!â The fact her new weapon had come in a vision from Ceciliaâs mysterious Altair Records only heightened her curiosity. The girl in question observed from the sidelines, eager to see the fruit of her efforts.
Thick metal straps fell from a sheet-covered object the length of Luyten Vâs arm. Sandage watched on like a proud parent, guiding the techsâ efforts from his position on a nearby catwalk.
âOh,â Rose exclaimed as techs pulled the sheet from the device, its red surface glimmering with fresh paint. This wasnât what sheâd expected.
âAttaching Luyten Vâs Devil Drill,â Sandage said.Â
Cranes lifted the device from the cement floor with cables thicker than Roseâs entire body. They strained under the weight but held firm. They lifted it up to Luyten Vâs left arm, fastening it onto the appendage with an audible thud. Through her control stick, Rose sensed the added weight. She stared at her new weapon, marveling. The arm extended past Luyten Vâs hand into a drill head longer than a basketball court. The jagged edges of the blade were sharp, ending with a wicked-looking three-prong edge.
âDevil Drill?â Rose said, raising an amused eyebrow.
Through her comm, she heard Sandageâs shrug. âThe Luyten V has earned the nickname Red Devil. It seemed appropriate.â
âA drill, though?â Still, she marveled at its power as she activated the device, whirling at speeds that would make a tornado blush. It would do some serious damage if it connected with an enemy.
âOkay, it wasnât designed as a weapon exactly. But it works against the Altairâs healing factorâmuch more effective than any cut or blunt trauma,â Sandage replied.
âItâs cool.â She waved around the new add-on, getting used to its added weight. The left arm was an interesting choice, it wouldnât interfere with Luyten Vâs Dynaspike, her most powerful weapon.
âIâm glad you like it. Weâll attach the Project: Birdbath prototype next, but first it requires some fine-tuning. That can wait, though. Letâs do some combat drills with the Devil Drill firstâpardon the pun,â Sandage said. âFirst, weâll test its penetrative power.â
Before Rose could reply, Luyten V rocked as the entire building shook. She adjusted Luyten Vâs controls, keeping its balance. âWhatâs going on?â The building rumbled again, the sound of screeching metal echoing painfully. Was something trying to tear the hangar apart?
âIt canât be! Why here? Why now?â Cecilia said fretfully, her visage going pale.
âWeâre under attack!â an operator said as she studied her monitor.
âWhat?!â Sandage said in alarm. âHe canât be attacking now! Why?â
To answer the LUVOLT agentâs worst fears, a section of the hangarâs ceiling tore away to reveal the nightmarish visage of Okabâs monstrous face. With a rumbling thud, he leaped from the roof, almost crushing several techs as they scurried away. With his towering height, Okabâs head scraped against the hangar ceiling as he lumbered forward.
âPerfect. It seems youâre already ready to begin,â Okab said, his monstrous mouth extending into a terrifying grin. âLetâs test that new toy of yours!â Not even finishing his sentence, the Altair general slashed out with an extended claw.















