it be alive.'
Velmeran nearly fell out of his perch. 'Keth? Is that you?'
'Of course it is.'
'Stay at the third landing,' Velmeran instructed. 'We will collect you there. Do you have a gun?'
'No, nothing. I have been listening to you since you landed. When that first sentry attacked you, the one guarding my door took off at a run. Since he was really the only thing keeping me in that room, I kicked open the door and headed straight for the stairs.'
'Why did you not tell us you were coming?'
'I have ho helmet,' Keth replied. 'And the echoes carry far in these old halls. I was afraid that one of the beasts might hear me.'
'You would hear it,' Dveyella pointed out.
'Not if it was standing still.'
'What does this do to our schedule?' Velmeran asked.
'Barring further incident, we might actually be out of here in another ten minutes,' Dveyella answered. 'In realistic terms, we might just be ready when those two wings of fighters descend upon us.'
After another half a minute, Velmeran had Dveyella stop the platform a short distance above the third level so that he could climb out. Keth looked up and saw his pack leader hanging facedown from the framework beneath the platform, his legs and free arm braced wide against parts of the structure, rather like an ironclad spider in a tubular steel web. Keth was at first inclined to laugh, but the expression his pack leader wore warned him against it. Velmeran threw Keth a gun, then quickly lowered himself from the frame and swung out to the landing stage. Dveyella quickly brought the lift down low enough for them to step on, and immediately started back up. When Keth tried to return the gun, Velmeran indicated for him to keep it and pointed up.
'Since you and I have no helmets, we are going to have to be on guard,' he said. 'If any of those monsters pokes its head over the railing, shoot it.'
'Remember that the design of this type of sentry is such that it can rotate its cameras straight down,' Dveyella added. 'And since its smaller guns are mounted on the sides of the cameras, it can shoot what it sees.'
'Is that one?' Keth asked, pointing at the rectangular shape that appeared over the edge of the railing a level up.
Velmeran nodded. 'I believe so.'
'Oh,' Keth said, and began shooting. His aim was surprisingly good, considering that he had seldom practiced with such a weapon. His second and third shots caught the sentry under the chin before it had a chance to draw back its head. 'Did I hurt it?'
'I do not believe so,' Velmeran said. 'No parts feH off. Do we stop?'
'No, we have to get closer,' Dveyella answered. 'Swat that thing back every time it shows itself.'
That did not work so well. The sentry had the advantage, and that advantage increased as the lift platform rose toward it. A moment later it returned and opened fire, and this time the three Starwolves were forced to leap off the platform into the stairs for cover. Velmeran tried to return fire, but it could see him clearly now and shot first.
'Now what?' he asked.
'We do not have the time to spare,' Dveyella said as she pulled off her helmet. 'Levels are about forty to forty-five meters apart, or three full revolutions of the stairs. If I can climb near enough, I can jump diagonally up from below the sentry to its level.'
'I believe I know what you have in mind,' Velmeran said. 'Will it work?'
Dveyella shrugged. 'If you cover me.'
A moment later they were climbing the stairs as fast as they could, leaving Keth behind to watch the lift. The climb became more dangerous as they drew nearer to the sentry, since it was soon able to shoot beneath the overhanging ledge that had protected them farther below. Still, they were able to climb to the run directly below it. Then Velmeran climbed two more flights, keeping behind the cover of the solid stone rail, until he was only two flights below and directly across from the automaton.
The sentry knew that they were up to something. It bent its head down as far as it could, trying to scan the shaft with infrared. Just then Velmeran fired on it, shot after shot slamming into its head, blowing out one camera and the gun beside it. The sentry retracted its head and staggered back. Dveyella leaped as hard as she could against the stubborn pull of real gravity, seeming almost to fly up the narrow shaft. Seven meters up she caught the railing where Velmeran stood and flipped herself atop it. Velmeran shot again, driving the sentry back a second time and blowing out its other camera in the process. Dveyella launched herself directly at the blinded automaton, taking advantage of its confusion.
Velmeran hurried to join her, leaping across the shaft as well, only to find the sentry standing by itself as thick smoke poured from its vents. Dveyella stood beside the doorway in the middle of the landing, cautiously peering down the dimly lit corridor.
'Another coming fast,' she said, panting in the poor air. 'Keth?'
'Already on my way up,' the older pilot responded over com.
'The machinery beneath the lift is unprotected, and we are still only halfway up,' Velmeran said. 'You are winded, so this one is mine. Take the lift up four flights and wait for me.'
'Do you have something in mind?' she asked.
'Nothing fancy. The sentry will think that we are on the way up, so this should be easy.'
'I could watch,' she offered.
Velmeran quickly placed a hand over his collar mike. 'I would prefer that you watch Keth. I do not trust him alone with a gun. He might try something that he would do well to leave alone.'
Dveyella reluctantly agreed and joined Keth on the lift as it went by. Velmeran positioned himself by the doorway, carefully out of sight. He did not have long to wait. The sentry had been near enough to fire a quick volley of bolts at the lift as it went by. It charged out onto the landing, slowing as it came out of the passage and finally stopping beside its motionless companion. The lift was ascending, still only two flights up, so it leaned out over the rail and tilted its head back to shoot.
Velmeran had been behind the sentry since it had stepped out onto the landing, unseen in its haste. Dveyella was correct in her guess that they were blind to the rear; they apparently did not even see to the sides very well. Careful to stay immediately behind it, Velmeran watched the sentry's movements carefully. As it leaned out to look up the shaft, he simply crawled between its long legs, lifted it up and heaved it over the rail. The machine fell heavily straight down the center of the shaft, never once bouncing off the sides. He watched until the automaton disappeared into the gloom, and a long moment later a sound like a small explosion echoed back up the shaft. Pleased with his efficiency, he hurried to join the others.
8
Dveyella peered cautiously around the edge of the doorway, and swiftly drew back in alarm and surprise. 'I find it hard to believe! There it is, waiting for us, right in front of the door. They must be getting smarter.'
'They are getting smarter,' Velmeran agreed. 'They have learned too many lessons the hard way.'
'We have to get that thing out of the way,' she said. 'Valthyrra Methryn, how much time do we have?'
'Those two wings of fighters are just now beginning to descend,' Valthyrra reported. 'You have perhaps three minutes.'
'Wonderful!' Dveyella muttered, pausing only a moment to think. 'Marlena, are you out there?'
'Ready and waiting.'
'That machine is backed up to the outer door with its tail in the crack, facing inward.'
'Ah, I follow you. Half a moment.'
A few moments passed and then one of the heavy doors began to open, slowly and silently, and a single arm reached through to attach a heat charge to the rear hull of the sentry that stood before it. The machine jumped
