Breeze Corinth (Book 1): Sky Shatter (42 page)

“Do you stay out in that barn I saw earlier?” Breeze asked.

“Breeze, really?” Sally shook her head.

Achilles clapped its hands and laughed. “I suppose for a machine, that would be an appropriate place. No, my young friend, I do not stay in the barn, though I do have a cellar below us where I like to tinker with old tools I have collected over the years and spend my evenings. After all, a robot does not need to sleep. For maintenance and repairs, I go to the barn where I keep plenty of spare parts that I have managed to scavenge over the years.”

Ray plopped down on the couch. “I’m commanding you to stay in the cellar. I’m sleeping here tonight, this way I can watch the door.”

Sally sighed loudly.

Achilles shook its head at her. “Quite all right, child. He has every right to be concerned. He is quite protective of you, you know.”

“Don’t I,” Sally said as she rolled her eyes.

“Very good then. This concludes this evening’s gathering. Sally and Breeze, please follow me upstairs so I may lead you to your rooms. Ray, I will bring down some blankets and a pillow for you.”

“Don’t bother,” he grunted as he stretched out on the couch.

Achilles nodded. “Perfect. Spoken like a true military man. No need for creature comforts. You do remind me of a general I served under, but that is a tale for another time.”

It turned to Sally and Breeze. “Come my young friends, and follow me,” the robot said as it went up the stairs that creaked and groaned with every step it took. “Such is the advantage you have over me, Master Verhesen. You can hear me anywhere throughout the home,” Achilles chuckled.

Breeze and Sally followed. She shot a look at Ray before disappearing up the steps.

Soon, everyone had fallen asleep for the night. Ray was sprawled out on the couch and snoring loudly while Sally and Breeze retired to their respective rooms upstairs and fell fast asleep.

After Achilles had seen to their needs, it went down the steps that led to the cellar. It raised a hand and a single bulb flickered alive, then plopped down onto a stool and placed its hands on the ragged surface of its workbench as its eyes glowed brighter with each passing moment when it looked up a framed picture on the wall of three young people. It stood up and took it down so it could look closer at the picture of two men and a woman who stood between them.

“What has happened before, will happen again,” Achilles said aloud while nodding its head slowly, and then shook it violently as a second voice spoke.

“This unit does not approve of the events that have transpired to date, which includes the unnecessary exposure to danger in the arena and the unwelcome intrusion of the young humans. This unit suggests that they are to be expedited from the premises immediately.”

Achilles shuddered. “No, the floodgates have been flung open. There is no turning back now. This may be the last chance we may have to right the wrongs of the past.”

Its eyes flickered as the second voice spoke. “This unit would like to make it known for the record that it is best to let sleeping dogs lie. That is a human expression from the past, is it not?”

Achilles chuckled. “Yes. Yes it is.”

BREEZE WOKE TO SUNLIGHT
pouring onto his face. He sat up to take in the room, and seeing it for the first time in daylight, he couldn’t help but notice it seemed even nicer than his dorm room on Perihelion. It had a wooden desk next to the window, along with a dresser that had a mirror. He then patted the mattress and noted how comfortable it felt.
Nice to sleep on a real bed for once
, he thought to himself.

He heard bustling coming from the kitchen downstairs and decided to get up and get dressed. He stepped out into the hallway just as Sally emerged from her room. Her hair was in a bun, and she yawned and stretched out her arms, not realizing Breeze was standing before her until he cleared his throat.

“Oh, good morning! Didn’t see you there. My goodness I slept so well,” she said.

“Yeah, tell me about it. Never knew a robot could have such a comfortable home. I don’t think anyone would believe us,” Breeze said.

Sally giggled. “Now I can hear it banging around in the kitchen again. Still think it’s going to try to eat us?”

“Nah, it probably eats scrap metal and chases it down with machine oil. But we can always let it eat Ray if it wants.”

They both laughed.

“Speaking of Ray, where is he?” Sally asked.

“Downstairs keeping watch, I guess. Let’s go look,” Breeze answered and went down the steps as Sally followed close behind.

They found Ray sprawled on the couch snoring loudly with one foot touching the floor while both of his arms were stretched out. A river of drool oozed from his mouth.

“Okay, this guy is our fearless watchdog? Even a bomb couldn’t wake him up,” Breeze said as he poked Ray in the ribs. There was no response.

Sally ran her fingers through his hair. “Poor thing, he can get so wound up. He takes after his father, you know. Ray is so lost without him. He always looks to him for guidance.”

Achilles emerged from the kitchen. “Greetings! Come and eat. You must be hungry. We have quite a day ahead of us.”

“What about him?” Breeze pointed at Ray.

“Do not be so hard on Master Verhesen. It was quite a task for him to undertake monitoring my every move. It took some time to wait for him to lower his guard so I could slip past with extreme caution and head to town to purchase provisions for breakfast,” Achilles said.

“Meaning he was passed out on the couch and you just walked right past him and out the front door,” Sally said as she folded her arms across her chest.

“Allow me to reiterate my dear, Ms. Trumbull; it is quite a task to monitor a devious robot such as I. The poor fellow exhausted himself,” Achilles said with a wink.

“Right. And left us defenseless against a robot that likes to cook,” she said with a sniff and headed toward the kitchen.

Breeze kicked Ray’s foot. He groaned and sat up as he rubbed his eyes and was startled to see Breeze and Achilles staring at him.

“What time is it? What happened?” he said.

“The time is morning. What is happening is that breakfast is served, young master. Now please arise and join your teammates at the table,” Achilles said and bowed.

Breeze chuckled as he headed to the kitchen. Ray sheepishly trailed behind.

They all sat around a table covered with dishes heaping with scrambled eggs, sliced ham and bowls of oatmeal.

“I was not entirely sure of what you might find edible. I do hope this offering is sufficient,” Achilles said.

“You are very kind Achilles, and a gracious host. The boys thank you as well,” Sally replied, and nodded toward Breeze and Ray as they wolfed down their food.

Achilles’ eyes glowed. “Excellent. Later, we shall begin our journey to your stricken ship and let us see what we can do to bring her back to life.”

After breakfast, they gathered at the barn where Achilles grabbed a handle and slid the barn door open to reveal a cavernous interior. They stepped inside and into the musty air faintly lit by the wisps of sunlight streaming through the windows up high.

They walked past rack upon rack of shelving containing a dizzying array of parts that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. The further they traveled, the dimmer the light became. Soon they were plunged into almost complete darkness, and Ray held out a glowing hand to light their way.

“Ah, yes, my apologies. Being a robot, I do not possess much use for lighting. It has never occurred to me to string lights this far into the barn, for I do not have many human visitors, you see. Stay close, the workshop is not far,” Achilles assured them as it pointed forward.

“How far back does this barn go? It seems we’ve been walking forever,” Breeze said.

“Yes, it is an extraordinary structure, to say the least, as there is much here to be found.” They continued on, eventually stopping when Achilles placed a hand against a panel mounted on a wall. Overhead lights flickered alive and they gasped in amazement at what they revealed. Sprawled before them were vehicles and aerocraft of various designs and shapes.

Breeze rushed over to get a closer look at the craft. “It’s like coming home for me! Look at all of this, it’s like my father’s storage yard he has for aerocraft back home in Conception.”

“I must confess, it is an impressive collection,” Achilles said.

Sally rolled her eyes. “And I thought Oslo had a lot of junk stored all around Perihelion. What is it with men, and holding onto old and tired machines?”

“I hope I am not lumped into that category, Ms. Trumbull,” Achilles said with a wink.

Sally became flustered. “No, please, I didn’t mean it like that. And besides, you’re not that old, and, well, you’re not a man. You’re a robot. A peculiar robot.”

Achilles chuckled. “Quite all right, young miss. I merely jest.”

Breeze had climbed onto a wing of an aerocraft and headed to the cockpit. He lowered his head inside, and whistled softly, then looked up at Achilles. “Where did you get all of these aerocraft? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Achilles patted the wing, and then ran its hand along the leading edge of it to the hull where the robot touched an insignia painted on the skin the craft. It was a triangle within a circle.

“I have been in operation for so many cycles, Breeze. Let it be said I have had plenty of time on my hands to collect things from a past long forgotten.”

“Well, okay. But can you get this thing to fly again?” Breeze said as he lowered himself into the cockpit.

Achilles nodded as it eyes began to glow. “Ever the optimist. Truly your greatest power.”

“Hate to break up this museum trip, but we need the parts you promised us, tin can. We need our ship repaired so we can get out of here,” Ray said.

“Of course, young master, you are absolutely correct. Forgive my rudeness,” Achilles responded, then stepped back to look up at Breeze in the cockpit. “May I see the diagnostic disk you had shown me earlier?”

“Yep, sure. Be right down,” Breeze climbed out of the cockpit, slid down the wing onto the ground. He reached into his jacket and handed Achilles the disk.

Achilles cradled the disk in its hands as it glowed and emitted a garbled, mechanical voice. The robot stood rock still as its eyes glowed a brilliant white.

“What’s it saying? I don’t understand,” Ray said.

“It’s machine language,” Breeze said, “I’ve seen some of the mechanics at my father’s shop talk back to computers. It’s hard to understand and even harder to learn.”

A holographic image of the scout ship emerged from the disk where it slowly rotated as scripts of code appeared beneath it while flashing arrows highlighted various parts of the craft.

“It’s pointing out the damaged parts of the ship,” Breeze said.

“Kinda figured that,” Ray retorted.

Achilles’ jaw dropped as it vocalized a series of hisses intermixed with the same garbled language that was emanating from the disk when the hologram of the ship rolled to its side and more lines of code scrolled by while arrows continued to highlight sections of the ship’s underbelly.

Achilles’ jaw shut with a click and the hologram disappeared. Its eyes faded to a soft glow.

“Thank you, Master Corinth. I do believe I know exactly what ails your chariot,” it said and handed the disk back to him.

“What were you saying to that disk?” Ray stepped into Achilles path as it walked over to a rack filled with parts.

“I beg your pardon?” the robot tilted its head quizzically.

“You heard me. What did it say to you? What are you planning to do?” Ray slowly drew a glowing hand across his chest.

“Stop being such a jerk and settle down!” Sally ran over and slapped his hand.

“There is nothing to fear, young friend. As Breeze already informed you earlier, it is merely machine language, which is a high speed series of codes that allows one machine to exchange information with another. The diagnostic disk was merely informing me of the mechanical errors plaguing your ship. I promise you there is nothing nefarious afoot, just two old machines conversing,” it finished with a chuckle.

“Maybe we should use it to see what’s wrong with you,” Ray said as he stared down the robot.

“Hey, Ray, you said you want the ship back up and running? This is probably the ‘bot to do it.” Breeze placed a hand on Achilles’ shoulder, “So I say stop being such a mule and drop the stubborn, tough guy act. It’s getting pretty stale already.”

Ray stepped out of the way while Sally glowered at him as he shuffled off. He sat down on a bench that lined the wall.

“I shall not hesitate to repeat myself; I admire Ray for his tenacity. Always on his toes and in high state of alert. A well trained soldier,” Achilles said.

“I heard that! Are you making fun of me?” Ray called out from the bench.

“Perish the thought, young man, I would do no such thing,” Achilles replied, and winked as it stepped toward a rack full of parts. It rummaged through the bins and grabbed a few items, then walked back to a workbench and spread them across it.

“Very good. This should take care of the minor repairs. Now, the difficult task ahead is securing some of the heavier pieces of machinery to complete the repairs. For this, we shall require my trusty steed.” Achilles swiveled around. “Ray, could you please retrieve the hover truck and bring it to the loading dock on the far side of the building?”

“Why, so you can attack the other two while I’m gone? Split us up so we are easier to subdue?”

“Ray!” Sally and Breeze shouted in unison.

“Just go get the damn truck already!” Breeze said.

Ray stomped out of the barn and disappeared into the sunlight.

“You know, when I first met that guy, I used to say to myself how cool and calm he was, and how I really wanted to be like him. Now, not so much,” Breeze remarked.

“I don’t think Ray or I ever really treated you with much respect to begin with. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry,” Sally said.

He stammered as his face turned a shade of red.

“You’ve changed a lot you know,” she continued, “you’ve become so much bolder. A take charge kind of guy.”

“Well, thanks,” Breeze replied and looked down at the ground and kicked it, then put his hands in his pocket. “So Achilles, how are we looking with those parts?”

“My young aviator, you must learn to soak in a young lady’s compliments. They can be few and far between.”

“Achilles, how would you know?” Sally’s hands were on her hips with a look of mock indignation on her face.

“Well, young miss, it is behavior I have witnessed in humans for many cycles.”

Sally smiled. “Hmm, sure. If you say so.”

“Now follow me, we shall meet Sir Raymond at the loading dock. I will carry these parts,” Achilles said and hoisted a trunk that he had filled onto its shoulder. Together, they made their way to the loading dock where they found Ray waiting for them with the hover truck.

Achilles strode onto the bed of the truck and lowered the trunk down. “Very good. Now, let us secure our final puzzle piece and we shall be on our way.” It pointed at Breeze. “Could you please commandeer the lift truck behind you and accompany me?”

Breeze jumped into the cab of the lift truck and dropped it into gear, then followed Achilles down a long and narrow aisle with several levels of shelving on either side with each level containing parts for heavy machinery that towered all the way to the ceiling.

Breeze turned on the lights perched atop the lift truck to illuminate the aisle while Achilles walked ahead, and each step it took echoed throughout the barn, when the robot abruptly stopped and pointed up.

“There, young man, at the very top. I will require you to raise the deck of the lift truck to its maximum height in order to retrieve the motor unit we will require for your ship.”

“Just like working in my dad’s yard picking up piles of scrap and dumping it into the crusher,” Breeze said as he jammed a lever down on the console. The bed of the lift truck rose accompanied by the whine of hydraulics.

“Tell me more about your father, Breeze,” Achilles said.

He shrugged as he watched the platform rise. “Dunno, he was ok, I guess. He never beat me or anything like that, just wasn’t exactly the warmest person you would ever meet. He was never the same after my mother died and he never got re-married or had another woman in his life. Just ran the scrap yard, day after day, constantly melting down huge chunks of metal and selling the rolls of steel to the local aerocraft builders. That’s all he did.”

“I am terribly sorry to hear about your mother. Was she kind to you?”

“Yeah, sure. I don’t really remember much. She died when I was young, but I always remember the trips we would take to my aunt’s house. She lived near a pretty big mountain. White Mountain it was called. At night, we would watch the lights that would swoop around it. Lightning bugs, my aunt would call them.”

“Interesting. Any brothers or sisters?”

“No, only child.”

Achilles’ eyes briefly lit up. “I see.”

The robot craned its neck and saw the bed of the lift truck was level with the uppermost rack. “Excellent, now halt the ascension and let us extend the grappler’s arms, and ease the motor onto the bed.”

Breeze pulled back a lever that extended the grapplers. Hydraulics whined as mechanical arms gripped the sides of the motor and dragged it toward the bed. The whining grew into a fevered pitch as the lift truck tilted dangerously to its side when the motor snagged on the edge of the rack. Breeze shifted the lever up and down and tried to work it loose as the lift truck rocked back and forth while the rack shuddered under the shifting weight.