Robotech: Exodus, 3

David was stalking around the living room.

I shouldn’t have let her go.  She was supposed to be back before the night fell, and here they were, two days later, and…

“Is Janna okay?”

“She’s just late, Mandy,” He told the eight-year-old.

“Can I go out and play?”

“No. Invid. Play inside.”

David didn’t know what had happened, but the Invid had gone absolutely berserk not long after Janna had left. Connerston had been burned to the ground, and the Invid had returned later and turned it into a crater of molten glass.

He glanced over at the crib. The men had come back with another few kids put in holes, or hidden in the forests. Older kids, who could work, were easier to find a family for, but these…

Which was another problem because they were freaked out, and Janna was good with kids. That was why some of the men joked that he and Janna should get started on a family which was just stupid—she was just a friend.

If she’s alive.

“Where the hell is—“

“David!” Jack said, running down from his little sentry post. “There’s a truck coming! A big truck!”

Shit.  “Everyone stay here. Jack, you take the new little ones if you have to run for the forest.”

“But I—“

“Jack!”

Now David heard the truck. Not anything near here. But not raiders? Please don’t be raiders…

He grabbed the Southern Cross Energy rifle, the main and only weapon they had, and walked out the door. If they were…

The truck was coming to a halt, looming large in the dusk.

Okay, no outriders, but who—

“Hey, David! Look what I found!” Janna called as she opened the door. “I got medical supplies, and a truck and…”

The rear door lowered, and a BIG power armor came out. “Hello, David. I am Aleph.”

“A big robot!” David blinked. “Janna?”

“Yeah?”

“What is going on?”

“I’ll tell you later. But let’s get the truck to the hidey hole.”

David nodded.

*****

A short time later, they were standing in the living room, the kids timidly staring at the robot from the corners. Janna had immediately gone to Danny and the medical kit was chirping away as it scanned him, the broad-spectrum antivirals clearing his body. The truck had been put in a small canyon beyond their home, and covered with tarp and leaves.

Invid weren’t the only thing you had to worry about.

Like the big robot that had sat down, on a work bench, which groaned only a little bit. Janna was bustling around, checking on the kids, who were mostly quiet.

“Jack, watching a baby means changing it.”

“But it’s gross!”

“And you put out flowers and ponies. Here, I’ll hold her, you wipe.”

“She is a technician?” The robot asked.

“Her Mom was an engineer, but… don’t talk about her. Janna just doesn’t like… broken stuff,”  David said.

“Right,” Janna said, rigging a sling for the baby. “Seriously, everyone, she’s had a rough day, and you can’t just put her in the corner.  Mandy, get some milk from the fridge.”

“Yes, Janna.”

“Okay, Janna?”

“Yeah, David?”

“Care to explain…”

“I am Adam.”

“Right. Him.”

“Well, I found him in the base…” With that, Janna continued her story, kids around her.

“So you’re like a robot person?” one asked.

“I am an AI .”

“Oh.”

“As are the cores in the truck, but without a body, they must remain inactive.”

“Wait, what?” David stared at Janna.

“There are more. But they don’t have bodies.”  Janna shrugged. “Here, let me show you!” She pulled out the book she’d found.  “See, it was like a combination of software and hardware, but the program got canceled and…” She glanced at the thick book. “I haven’t had a chance to read the whole thing, and Adam wasn’t allowed.”

“I was asked not to. The nature of my sapience allows me to ignore directives—I believe that was one of the reasons the program was canceled.”  Adam paused. “Without a protoculture core, my batteries are good for several hours of normal activity, an hour of strong physical labor… and substantially less if I am engaged in combat. I will be able to aid with chores, but my capabilities are limited.”

“Don’t worry,” Janna said. “You can help around—do you know how to do laundry?”

David stared at the robot as it slowly turned its sensor to face Janna. “I am one of the most advanced autonomous units ever created. I believe laundry is a skill I can learn.”

“Great! Everyone else hates laundry day.”

With that, several of the children took up the chant “No more laundry! no more laundry!”

“Yeah, how about we say thank you,” Janna said.

“Thank you, Adam,” everyone chorused.

“Good, now let’s get ready for dinner.” As the kids ran off, Janna sagged. “God, I’m beat.”

“Janna, what happened?” David asked.

“Some morons decided to make a glorious last stand by the old base,” Janna muttered. “And they shot the hive with something big. Big enough to blow up all the protoculture fields… And you know what that does to the Invid.

“Yeah, what about the farmers?”

“Bet they’re dead as well. By the time we got out, everyone was gone.”

“Farmers?” Adam asked.

“Yeah, the Invid take people to farm if they need the labor. That’s another reason not to piss ‘em off. They make examples of places that they think attacked them.”

“Do any farmers return?”

Janna and David looked at each other. “No.”

“That is unacceptab—“

“Whoah!” Janna said. “You just said you can fight for a few minutes. Look, you don’t fight the Invid, it’s like… a thunderstorm. You just try to get out of the rain. It’s not like they’re depopulating the zone. But… don’t make waves.”

“Hmmm.” Adam nodded. “I cannot do anything about it, in any case. Not yet.”

“Great. Okay, we’re gonna have dinner to let me hook you up to the batteries.”

“Agreed.”  Adam looked down, Jack was looking up at him.

“So you don’t like, have any guns?”

“Not in this form. Weapons packs were removed when the base was decommissioned.”

“Oh. Here you can have my slingshot!”

Adam tilted his head. “Very well. I will use it as effectively as possible.”

“Cool!”

****

Later that night, Janna and David were in their beds in the front. It was easier to get up and deal with the kids, and put them in the front in case anyone wanted to go exploring.

“Meredith wants to know when we’re getting married.” David was looking at the ceiling from his bed.

Janna snorted. “Those old ladies. It’s not always about getting married. That’d just be weird. People can be friends.”

“Yep.”

“So, our robot…”

“Adam isn’t ours…”

“Okay, our… house guest?”

“That works.”  Janna paused. “Tomorrow I wanna read that book, figure out why they stopped everything.”

“Adam already told you. Who wants a killer robot that can say ‘no?’”

“Hmmm…”  Then they heard the sound of a cry.

“Oh….” Janna muttered. “Did you ever get her name?”

“No. Just stuck her in a barn.”

“Right, we need to come up with one. I’ll handle her.”

David got up. “No, you’ve had a long day, and I know where the bottles are. I’ll handle it.”

“Thanks.”