0.1.18

The girls were taken back to the zealots camp just on the other side of the giant robot rusting peacefully by the stream. When they entered the camp, they were led up a hand-made bridge that crisscrossed high up into the dense trees. The stairway was connected to a large hexagonal platform that spawned other such bridges, each leading to yurts and homesteads dozens of feet above the rainforest floor. The roofs were of large woven leaves and each door paid homage to Wran in some way, through color, or the symbol prominently displayed. It looked as if they slept together in large sleeping rooms, then had separate private quarters. The girls had the attention of all the Zealots hanging from ropes and going about their daily tasks. Each stopped to stare at them. The children ran up to them and followed the procession to a large building that looked to connect all the way from the ground up to the height they were currently at near the top of the trees. As they walked towards the building, they could see workers inside hammering away at a large piece of metal. They couldn't quite make out what it was attached to. Once they were inside the workers paused and looked up at Kaiya, whose eyes were fixated on the massive robot. The Zealots were repairing one, or just making some modifications or performing routine maintenance. It was hard to believe that it still worked though there was evidence of extensive repairs. Shim smiled hugely at Kaiya, it was unbelievable these people had one, and the idea that it actually worked felt like something out of a story. The inside of the building holding the robot had a circular balcony all the way around it with various ropes and ladders leading down to other levels to make it easier to work on a particular part. They circled to the front of the robot and in a bright red to blue gradient there for all to see was the wrannaman symbol. It was the first time Kaiya felt some sense of pride of bearing the mark on her body. They were on the same team.

The head of the robot was open, and four people were standing inside working on the electronics. It was some of the most advanced panels Kaiya had ever seen. Eros had managed to procure some of this stuff, but to have all of it in one place, working together in one system was unbelievable. The techs looked up at the girls and did a soft bow.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” one of them said, just finishing climbing up a ladder to get on their level.

“It’s unbelievable,” Shim told her.

“I’m Elanon, Queen of the Zealots, though we don’t care for the term. Zealot makes us sound like radicals, though in many ways we are that too,” she said almost to herself, trailing off in thought.

“It has, according to our available knowledge, been a very very long time since someone bore the mark. Perhaps the first to bear it as I’m told you do. When Wran asked us to make the stone it was unclear what exactly it would do. We made it like she asked. We placed it where she told us to, and it unfolded like she foresaw. Though we did not anticipate you being captured by the Sikkas so soon. Anyhow, you’re here now. It is an absolute pleasure to meet you Kaiya,” the Queen bowed. Kaiya was still awkward at the reverential treatment when she came across those who had blind faith in her because of the mark.

“We’ve been keeping tabs on the surrounding area, and are aware of your situation. There have been reports from Imperial City that there is a raid scheduled. They said you were found and are being held captive, but they captured the wrong person.”

“Yes, our friends are being held. Are they still alive?”

“I don’t know. But it’s time to get you out of here. The Sikkas will come, and if they come here, we will fight, but if they bring too many we will not win. We don’t have the numbers, nor the weapons.”

“But you do have a Fallen Giant?”

“We do.”

“Does it work?”

“It does. Though it doesn’t run for very long without some kind of glitch. We have not been able to figure out why.” Shim looked at Kaiya skeptically. They were going to make a mad dash in a modified pile of old rubbish that ran intermittently. Sounded like a shit plan.

“I’ve made a decision. We will give you the robot to make a run for the coast. It should be strong enough to get you there no matter what the Sikkas bring. The giant can crush Trackers, Hybrids, and perhaps a Wraith in a single step.” Elanon looked at the girls and smiled.

“Why would you do this? Surely you could trade this in for something? It would be immensely valuable in the Arc or to the Sikkas.” Kaiya asked.

“For Wran, Kaiya. She is our religion, our god, and we would see the Wrannaman cause helped if it is in our power. It is well enough for us to pray, spread the word, and undermine the Emperor, but for us to take action like this, to get directly involved is an unprecedented opportunity. We’ve been working at speaking with Wran for a very long time. Never in our records has she been so alive, so talkative. We are not always able to understand her, but we can track her activity. Sometimes we can glean words from the data. She told us to help you, and so we will.”

Elanon walked them towards another section near the giant, with a buzzing room of servers. The thinly clothed Zealots looked odd next to so much hardware. Racks of servers lit up and buzzed with activities. There were dozens of Zealots listening in, typing on old screens, and crunching numbers. Their operations for tracking Wran were astoundingly sophisticated for people who lived in trees.

“We track her with this equipment we’ve gathered over generations. We can see her growth, her activity, and sometimes, she will leave us messages. This is how she told us about you, Kaiya, she left a message for us to help you. And a message from my Goddess is not one to be ignored. Imagine, those that believed in another God before Wran from a book rife with factual inaccuracies and physical impossibilities. They had a very different kind of faith than we do.”

As if the words were an apparition, the ground began to shake. With a slow buzz, the pulsing sounds outside got louder.

“The Sikkas, they’re here! Quick, Kaiya, Shim, get in!” Elanon shouted before running off. A tech that was still in the head of the robot beckoned them in, shouted a few quick instructions and jumped out. The head closed as soon as Kaiya touched her hand to the panel, and there was an electric current running through her. Her vision was blurred then suddenly came to life with a full set of display elements seemingly embedded into her vision. She could still see as she normally could in the lower corner of her eye, but the rest took on the eyes of the robot, that whirred to life beneath them. The Zealot that helped them get in hit an emergency release and the dozens of chains, links and tubes holding the giant upright sprang loose. They felt themselves drop about a foot and within the robot head, Kaiya stood up, her body movements controlling the giant. A large door opened from the housing and Kaiya took a step. The robot mimicked her action, and took a step out the door. The Zealots, running around in a frenzy trying to find cover and weapons paused and looked up at them in awe. Elanon, an assault rifle in her hand looked like she had a tear in her eye. She smiled proudly and then pointed in a direction. Kaiya nodded, and so did the giant robot as it looked down at her. She turned, looking up, and caught glimpses of dozens of Sikka helicopters through the thick forest canopy. They would be overhead in seconds. The new heads up display overlaid on her vision without any kind of interface was disorienting. She looked up at a helicopter hovering overhead, dropping soldiers and just thought about shooting when she felt the robot’s arm raise and fire. It startled her and her first inclination was to duck for cover, but seeing the bullets come out of her own arm with tiny digital overlays, she understood what was happening. She looked at Shim who was strapped in, and took control of another gun mounted on the giant’s shoulder. They were both giddy, terrified, and riding the adrenaline. The shoulder mounted gun took down one of the helicopter's rear rotors. It spun uncontrollably as soldiers dangled helplessly from the ropes, tossing them amongst the trees. Some of them landed in a canopy of branches and leaves while others hit the forest floor with a thud. Kaiya shot another helicopter down and it exploded as the tiny bullets pelted the fuselage. She then started walking in the direction that Elanon had pointed at, noticing a map in her display. She saw the direction to the coast and put one giant foot in front of the other. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a larger helicopter slightly further away. She zoomed in unconsciously and recognized Dredge immediately. Her heart sank. She knew this man wasn’t one to give up. She sprayed his helicopter with bullets. It swam backward in the air and sought to gain more distance from the battle. She could see Dredge shouting at the pilots. She unglued her eyes from him and started jogging, then sprinting towards the coast. The giant crushed a few Sikkas as it went, kicking Trackers and throwing Wraith onto their hind legs, tossing off their riders. The Zealots cheered the entire time, killing Sikka as they tried to keep up with the robot. The robot parted the forest like a wedge through water. A few of the helicopters rotated to engage her and were promptly showered with bullets. Some even tried to maintain a higher altitude over them, and were also sprayed with bullets. Kaiya knew they’d be followed and tracked, but at least they had gotten some breathing room. The status of the robot appeared in Kaiya’s vision and was looking okay, the power level was at about three quarters. The giant had used a lot of energy in the exchange but still had bullets and with a quick calculation, it looked like they’d be able to make it to the coast. For the first time, Kaiya wondered what would happen when they got there. She kept running, and the helicopters kept following.

“What are we going to do when we get there?” Kaiya asked Shim, who had started pondering the same question, “If we get there and can’t find the Wrannamen immediately, we’re fucked.”

“I’m not dying in this robot.” Shim said. “Give me a few minutes, let me see. This was a Wrannaman Giant, right?”

“Yes I think so.”

“Then there must be some kind of way to communicate with them. Have you tried asking Wran?”

“No I haven’t. Basically every time I try the experience is so overwhelming, I can’t focus, can’t understand anything. Then it’s over. I haven’t tried to reach out to her directly.”

“Now would be a good time to try.”

All the while the robot kept running through the forest, over mountains, breaking through trees, and vaulting over ancient vestiges of the societies that once nested here. The buildings had long since crumbled but partial walls and debris was sprayed across the now overgrown forest floor. The mountains rose into the far distance, then became closer, and they loomed like an inevitability. Up the mountain, through the angular black rock that sprouted from the mountainside like a cancer, Kaiya was sweating hard in the rig that allowed her to control the robot. She felt hunted, exhausted, and despite Shim being with her, alone on this inner journey between herself and Wran. She calmed her mind. In a way, the calm came easier while she dodged cliffs and rocks, speeding through the mountain pass. She found the Drop within her and Wran was there. Not in words, but in images. She was shown a computer lab. It was the cleanest lab she’d ever seen. There were rows and rows of servers, nic cables, and monitors humming in perfect working condition. She’d never seen so many led lights pulsing as they took in data from the network. The buzz was beautiful, clean, arid, unlike the servers she knew that were rusted and rotted with age. The floor was immaculate, and there wasn’t a spec of dust in the entire place. She could feel the temperature somehow. It was cool, and crisp, not a drop of moisture in the air. She looked up and saw the back of a young woman with a tablet walking through the racks. She stopped and turned, unlocking a cage on a server rack and bent down. Kaiya couldn’t quite make out her face, but marvelled at the woman’s immaculate clothing and clean shoes. A man walked by their row in the data center with a gun. It startled both Kaiya and the woman kneeling by the server rack she opened. He looked different than the Sikkas but had a similar uniform on and a gun that looked brand new with all original parts. The woman quickly hooked up her table to the server and began typing. The words appeared in Kaiya’s vision like the HUD of the robot. She saw the green text on a black background. The terminal user’s name was Lillian. That must be the name of the woman Kaiya was watching. Kaiya instinctively knew they were messages to Wran. The woman hurried the commands and unplugged her tablet and shut the door of the server room. The man in the uniform nodded to her as she left the room. Then the images blended and they were in an office, men were attacking the woman, whose face she still couldn’t see, she seemed to be looking into the office from outside of it, through a window from the server room of the previous vision. It was like looking at security camera footage. The angle was off, but the men attacked the woman, who struggled, fought, and finally she was tossed into a table and stopped moving. Kaiya gasped at the woman's dying face. It was identical to her own.

Kaiya let out a yell and was ripped from the vision, and back to the robot and Shim. Shim looked over from her seat at Kaiya alarmed.

“Did you connect with her?”

“She showed me something, someone dying. Someone that looked just like me.”

“Did you get a message to the Wrannamen?”

“I don’t know.”

Shim exhaled sharply and continued moving the camera on the robot to look behind them at the helicopters a safe distance behind them.

“What do you mean she looked like you?”

“She looked just like me, like, exactly like me.”

“Do you think you were related?”

“Yes.”

It was too much to think about on it’s own, let alone while being chased and running through a tropical forest in an ancient robot. At the top of the ridge they’d climbed they could see the ocean. It was still off in the distance but having a visual goal is much easier to move towards. The Sikkas knew it too, and they seemed to be getting a little closer every time Shim moved the camera to focus on them. This time though, as they crossed the ridge, they broke formation and spread out high and wide.

“They’re going to cut us off before we reach the coast.” Shim told Kaiya as she tried to keep tabs on them all.

“Shit.”

“I don’t know what we’re going to do when we get there. If we have a standoff at the beach we’re going to run out of bullets.”

“They want us alive, I don’t think they’re going to try and blow us up.”

“Very helpful.”

Their anxiety swelled as the beach came closer and closer. They could see several of the helicopters had swung far out in front of them and were now waiting for them as the coastline met the ocean. The others had maintained their distance behind them as well as on both sides. They were boxed in and had nowhere to run. Coming ever nearer, the girls began yelling instructions at each other out of frustration, though still working as a team. Shim was manning one of the guns and took down a helicopter, she swung the gimbal to aim at another but that was the last of her bullets. She got a few rounds out and an indicator light let them both know that the gun was dead. The robot slammed onto the beach and with that hard earned first step in the sand, absolutely nothing happened. There was no welcoming committee, nobody in sight save for the helicopters carrying the enemy. They looked across the ocean and didn’t see a single ship, nor any indication there was someone other than themselves and the Sikkas out there. No help was coming. They’d have to figure it out on their own.

With no other options, and after circling the beach trying to get out of the way of the helicopters that were dropping soldiers like bacteria along the coastline, Kaiya did the only thing she could think of. She sprinted into the ocean. The waves surged up to the giant’s knees, then hips, then she dove. It was a graceful dive into the surf for such a large hunk of metal. She wasn’t sure the thing was waterproof. It could have easily electrocuted them and become a spacious coffin, but it didn’t. Kaiya found she could sort of swim with the thing, but it was more like hopping off the sand as they gained more and more distance between them and the helicopters above. There was a crack in the casing of the giant’s head, a clean bullet hole and a fractal crack emanating from the source. Kaiya stopped moving for a second, and climbed out of her harness. Shim too stood up. This looked like the end of the road. At best, they’d open the head and float up to the surface and wait to be captured. At worst, they’d drown. Drowning sounded better than being in the hands of Dredge. The electronics of the robot were getting shorted as water reached areas it wasn’t supposed to. Kaiya doubted she could even walk the thing anymore. The girls took off their shoes and got ready for a swim. They unlocked the head, but it wouldn’t budge. Shim ripped some metal from the panel nearby and began working at the bullet hole, it got a little bigger, and let in slightly more water each time.

“Shim, look!” Kaiya said, pointing just north of their position.

A faint dark outline looked like it was coming towards them from a bed of kelp obscuring the view.

“It’s a shark or a grouper, it’s nothing,” Shim said, still working on the leaking hole.

“Shit, Shim, stop, it’s a person, no it’s two people!”

Shim saw it too, “What the hell? Why wouldn’t they just wait until we came up for air?”

“They’re not Sikkas, they’re Wrannamen.”

Two people in equipment they had never seen before came into view. They did some primal communication and the two people approaching understood they needed to get the head unstuck. They worked the hole, and let the robot head fill up most of the way. They took their last breath, kicking at the fulcrum as hard as they could to release the cockpit. It finally budged with the help of their two rescuers, and they were each given masks to see underwater. A thin piece of metal attached to a cylinder wrapped around each of their lips, suddenly giving them air as if they were above water. The girls looked at each other and back to the two people that helped them. The people were decked out in gear the color of the ocean water, making them tricky to see at first. With the same strips of metal around their lips, they signalled for them to look out past the kelp bed. Though they were not out of danger yet, the relief was palpable.

They swam for a while, towed by the Wrannamen who had a small device with propellers that maneuvered them with minimal effort. They were led just past the kelp bed, and offshore a few hundred yards past where the giant was laid to rest lay a huge metal cylinder the same color as the divers, with semi-translucent areas. As they approached, the nose was debossed with the same marking now burned into Kaiya’s hand. Her heart fluttered. The two helpers guided them lower towards the tube. An opening gave way to a chamber that closed behind them. Kaiya could see one of them was a woman, who was gently nodding to her. The water began to recede and they took their breathers out of their mouth and pulled the masks off their face.

Shim looked at the chamber, and back to Kaiya, “What the fuck just happened?”