“Unless they decide not to use LIDAR,” Renaldo said.
“Then they won’t see us,” Rhea said. “But we’ll still see them. Hunter killers have a distinctive thermal signature.”
That answer seemed to satisfy Renaldo. For now. Though she knew there was tech out there that could almost completely mask a hunter killer on the thermal band. It was expensive, but still available; whether or not Aradne employed such tech, she couldn’t say. Either way, she decided not to share that bit with Renaldo. Especially considering that she wasn’t sure why she knew about it in the first place.
Rhea kept her eyes on the swarm. Soon the retreating drones had passed beyond the ruins and into the Outlands proper; the craft continued to recede into the distance, their dots barely discernible on the horizon.
“And so, we’re left alone once more,” Rhea mused softly over the comm. “With only bioweapons and hunter killers for company. Along with a certain scorpion-tailed cyborg.”
“Scorpion?” Will transmitted. “You mean monkey. And he isn’t the only cyborg with a sting.”
“No,” Rhea agreed. She touched the pistol at her hips, and then the X2-59 wristband. “He is not.”
15
Rhea decided to hunker down until nightfall before moving, because Tasins were most active during the day, and slept at night. However, even though all of the drones were now gone, the city was deceptively quiet down there.
“Where do you think they’re all hiding?” Will asked when he noticed her gazing at the carcasses on the streets.
“The bioweapons?” she replied. “I don’t know. My guess is the smell of their rotting brethren is keeping them underground.”
“I’m surprised they’re not feeding on the bodies,” Renaldo said.
Chuck scratched his chin. “I heard most bioweapons aren’t cannibals. They try to avoid eating within the same species. For the most part.”
“That’s not what I heard,” Renaldo said. “The mothers routinely eat their babies, especially when food is scared. Among all bioweapons. Tasins included.”
“How horrible,” Rhea said.
“Uh huh,” Renaldo agreed. “Speaking of food, does anyone have a fat pill to spare?”
Rhea reached into her pocket.
“No, Warden, I got this,” Chuck said. He tossed Renaldo a small pill. “Enjoy, Stick Arms.”
Renaldo swallowed it, and then took a swig from his canteen. His hunger temporarily sated, he appeared thoughtful. “I remember growing up in the slums with my brothers and sisters. We often talked about the adventures we’d have in the Outlands. We were going to be explorers, you see. It was a way for us to imagine a life outside the slums. A life where we’d live on the gourmet meals we saw livestreamed from Aradne. Meals of turkey, chicken, pasta, and gravy.” He sighed. “I never found that life. The closest I’ve ever had to a gourmet meal was a burger picked up from a vendor in the slums, for the price of ten creds, or almost an entire month’s wages. I’ve always had to subsist on food pills.” He glanced at Rhea. “You know, I was hoping we’d be able to make a difference for the people of Rust Town, you and I. Doing stuff like procuring actual meals for the settlement. But if fetching a week’s supply of water was this hard, I can’t imagine what it would be like to do anything more.”
“I’m not worried about procuring actual meals,” Rhea said. “Especially considering that most of Aradne subsists on food pills just like the denizens of Rust Town. Except the ultra-rich, of course. But that’s another matter. Right now, I’m focusing on what the population needs to survive. They have a profusion of food pills. That leaves only water.”
“What are we going to do when the water tanks dry up after a week?” Chuck asked. “Make another run?”
“We’ve already decided Aradne security won’t fall for the same trick twice,” Will replied.
Rhea realized everyone was looking at her, awaiting her response. She sighed.
“I don’t have all the answers,” she said. “I guess we’ll just have to deal with that when it comes. So many things could change between now and next week. Maybe we’ll have negotiated a water pact with the city. Or maybe we’ll find another way to get water. Anyway, first of all we should really focus on leaving these ruins alive.”
“Probably a good idea,” Will agreed.
The lot of them remained mostly silent for the rest of that day. They rested, recovering from the earlier tense moments. Gizmo kept an eye out, watching the northern and western approaches to the building, while Chuck and Horatio observed the southern and eastern sides, respectively.
Rhea didn’t let Will launch the drone into the air: she didn’t want to alert any enemy drones that might be watching unseen nearby. And of course, there was still the unknown threat the Scorpion posed.
The latter cyborg made no further appearances that day. Whether it was because he was too far away, or too severely wounded after his run-in with the bioweapons, Rhea didn’t know. But either way, she was glad not to have to fight again that day.
Night eventually fell. Horatio reported that the spy satellites passing overhead were near the southern horizon now, so that meant the team would have to stick to the northern side of the buildings. The green and red zones on the overhead map updated accordingly.
These satellites utilized infrared cameras to see at night, so in theory, with the clothing Rhea and the others had, they wouldn’t have to worry about being spotted. But nonetheless Rhea didn’t want to take the risk and informed her companions that they would continue to avoid the red zones.
“I can agree with that,” Will said. “I’ve heard that some of the spy satellites can fire focused beams of LIDAR onto areas up to five hundred meters in diameter on the surface.”
“No, that’s impossible,” Chuck said. “The tech for that is years away.”
“Actually, it’s been available for quite a while,” Horatio said.
That news only further cemented Rhea’s mind on the matter. “We stay within the green zones.”
Chuck took point, and led the way to
