Encounter

After flying south for a while, we landed at a roadside rest stop. At this time, the sun had set.

“We’re heading inside,” Penny announced, picking the lock.

“Meh, we’re more the outdoorsy sort,” Bernicia replied. “Have fun.”

“Hmm… those bots and drones are gonna be a pain to deal with,” Blake said. “They can find us anywhere, I bet.”

“Maybe if we just let them catch us, they’ll leave us alone,” Travis mused.

“Those heavy bots had live firearms,” I reminded him. “And missiles! I’m starting to feel like they actually do want us dead. You want to just give that to ‘em?”

“Huh, when you say it like that…” He scratched his neck.

“Well, I’m sleepy,” Bernicia yawned. “A good stomping can really take it out of ya.”

“They probably won’t find us immediately,” Travis figured. “Unless one of us had a tracer chip on us, or something.”

“As if.” Bernicia slithered under a bush. “We’d never be able to rest if that were the case.”

I flew up to the roof and laid on its smooth, cool surface. We aeronauts may be able to run for days, but this meant we slept like rocks whenever we did get the chance to catch Zs.

I’m in my body; I’m not in my body… I have to get out of here.

My eyes popped open. Not dreaming. But still asleep? I was a ghost again, staring at my sleeping self. But I didn’t feel asleep anymore…

I began to wonder if physics mattered in this form. I mean, I was floating, right? Who’s to say I couldn’t just… go straight to the House of Steel?

(Careful,) something said.

I looked around. (What?)

(Hi.) The something materialized into a girl with severe bed head. (You found Mac’s enchantment? Banger.)

(Who are you?) I asked.

(The House of Steel is really far away,) the girl said. (Make sure you don’t get severed. Stay focused on your goal.)

(Lady, I bleed focus,) I replied. (Check it!)

In a flash, I was in the House of Steel. (Haha! See? I… oh, whoops,) I muttered. (I hope she didn’t want to come along. Actually, who was she?)

I didn’t spend too much time thinking about it. After wandering around a bit, I found myself in a small backroom occupied by Joseph and the Guy. They were talking to a small communicator that I recognized as a talkbox.

“…never on board with this to begin with,” Joseph was saying. “Machines can fail, you know. And they have already, numerous times.”

“Oh, come on! They aren’t that incompetent,” the Guy objected.

“Ah, so you still think training henchmen is a better deal? And you’re certain you can train and condition them properly? If I recall, it was you who wrote up the I-bot proposal in the first place, Mr. Adams.”

“Don’t get clever with me,” Joseph retorted. “You know I did that as a contingency. And none of this would be a problem if you had covered for us when they came! You and I both know that the aeronauts are your only option for weaponization.”

“Best option,” the talkbox corrected. “And anyway, you have some nerve talking to me about that when you haven’t even detained any.”

“Feh.” Joseph sat back, annoyed. “You know, we trained them to avoid capture at any cost.”

“Well, as long as you have a plan,” the talkbox dismissively replied. “I’d like a good number for the revival, preferably from Gen 3 or 4.”

“Well, Gen 4 will be simple, at least. They’re still in their safe house.”

“And what of the third?” The talkbox sounded expectant.

“They were last seen with Gen 1.”

“I see. In that case,” the talkbox decided, “I say you take them in one fell swoop. No need to hold back, just make sure to stabilize the ones from Gen 3 if push—”

Whoosh.

I opened my eyes. My real eyes? Oh, I was back. And… the sun was rising. Did that whole journey count as a dream? I mean, I knew it wasn’t a dream, but my body felt as rested as if I was dreaming. I wasn’t really sure.

“Morning, Kit,” Bernicia called. “Want some vending machine junk?”

“Mm, sure,” I yawned. “The Gen 1 guys are in danger, I think.”

“What? We’re all in danger, all the time. What’s new?”

“I’m serious!” I hopped down to her. “They’re gonna start coming hard. Probably.”

“What, did you have a dream about it? You an oracle now?”

“Umm… sort of?” How am I supposed to explain this? “Actually, never mind. Let’s just go.”