“Past this point most of the sensors and cameras are offline,” Trixie said.
This meant there was less chance of us being tracked but it also meant we couldn’t scan ahead and wouldn’t know what we were walking into. I would have to depend on the drones to warn me of approaching danger.
Chapter Thirteen
The overhead lights dimmed slightly and there was a humming sound somewhere ahead of us.
“What was that?” I asked.
“Something drawing power,” Trixie said. “Possibly an elevator at the end of this corridor, but I can’t be certain.”
“The security robots?”
“I don’t think it’s the janitor,” Trixie said.
I stopped to consider my options. We were in a long straight corridor with no sub-corridors running off it. There were three doors in front of us, one in the wall on the left and two on the right. At the far end were two sets of elevator doors. If the robots appeared there, I was going to be a sitting target. And despite what you see in the movies, robot security guards are excellent shots. Once they acquire a target, they just keep firing at it.
“Let’s go back,” I said, starting to turn as I said it.
“Mozzie is picking up motion in the corridor we came down,” Trixie said.
“Then we take the other fork,” I said.
We were close to a junction where three corridors met in a sort of Y-shape. If we had robots in two of the corridors, there was only one way left open to us.
“Send Gnat to check it out,” I said. I didn’t move. I already knew what the second drone was going to report.
“Movement there also,” Trixie said.
The ship’s computer had chosen an excellent place to ambush us. But how had it managed to locate us if the sensors were out in this section?
“Show me the plan for this corridor,” I said. “And try and work out how they found us.”
I didn’t want to be caught out in the open, but I wanted to know where each of the three doors led before I went through one of them. There were two robots coming up behind me and one in front, so going forward seemed to offer the best odds. I told the drones to keep watch for the robots coming from the rear.
The explosive rounds in my pistol could stop a security robot. But only if I fired all six at the right spots in its head and chest. Easy to do if you’re shooting at a stationary target on a range – less easy at a moving target that is also firing at you. I didn’t want to face any of the robots head-on if I could avoid it.
“Ah,” Trixie said. “This is my fault.”
“It is?”
“The ship’s computer has been following me. It isn’t supposed to be smart enough to do that.”
“Maybe it got an upgrade,” I said.
“I’m disconnecting.”
I was only half-listening. The floorplans showed that the two doors to my right were for a latrine and a small gymnasium. I didn’t want to mount my last stand in a toilet and I didn’t think I could defeat three armed robots with a couple of dumbbells and a medicine ball. The door on the left was more promising. It was a mess hall – what normal people call a cafeteria. ‘Gunfight at the OK Canteen’ had the right sort of ring to it. And maybe there was a goods lift or a dumbwaiter I could use to make my escape. Failing that, there were probably various bits of kitchen equipment that I could put to good use.
I heard the ping of the elevator door opening as we ducked into the canteen. When both of the drones were safely inside, I slapped a small explosive against the lock and set it off. With the lock fused, the robots wouldn’t be able to get the door open – they would have to batter it down. It wouldn’t keep them out for long, but it bought me a little time to prepare for their entrance. I left one of the drones watching through the round glass window in the door and went to check out the kitchen area.
When I’d gone rooting through the Celestia’s stores looking for equipment, I had been preparing for a robbery not a war. I’d taken flashlights and a few small explosive devices for use on locks. There had been some plastic explosive, but it hadn’t aged well so I didn’t touch it. And I took no weapons at all. At this moment I was left with two small palm-sized explosive devices that were marginally more powerful than a sneeze and a beltful of explosive bullets plus the six that were loaded in my gun. In comparison, the rifles the robots were carrying were small cannons that could blow a hole in the side of a tank.
Ordinarily, if I know I’m going up against robot security guards, I carry the appropriate equipment. They use a combination of vision, motion sensors, heat detection, and sound pick-ups. With the right gear, you can confuse these for long enough to make your escape. You send out a handful of ‘flickers’ to flap around like birds’ wings and distract the robots’ motion sensors. A scattering of mini transmitters to all corners of a space can broadcast sounds that make the robots think you’re in places that you’re not. And I would normally wear a hooded suit that masked body heat, keeping it contained until I could get out – or until I passed out from heat exhaustion. The kitchen offered me none of these things, so I was going to have to improvise. I had the two drones, but I didn’t want to risk losing Mozzie or
