SOMETHING WENT WRONG!

Mickey looked about, they stood in a pass way between two buildings, Mickey had her spot light on,

“this way, keep up and be ready my soldier” she exclaimed and moved off,

Ben followed on,

The lights in the draft flickered and came back on,

“someone not payed the electric bill in this place, just cannot get the staff I tell you” Ben announced,

“please Ben, can you stop with the joke man and be my soldier man” Mickey expressed,

“roger that” Ben replied,

Mickey peeped around the corner, the main street was quiet, some shouting and cheering was heard from somewhere!

The noise of a reversing vehicle was heard,

Flashing orange lights lit up the area,

“move it, not much time, out of hours’ rules apply down here now, move it you two” someone yelled out!

Mickey pulled Ben past her, “get in there and hush up mister” she growled!

Ben looked at the open back doors to some space looking vehicle,

“move it troops” someone shouted!

Ben gave a thumbs up sign to a soldier looking robot who was looking out from a turret that was mounted on the roof of the vehicle,

“come on people, let’s get out of here” came a familiar voice,

“come on Mickey, it’s the sarge” Ben yelled out as he climbed in the back of the vehicle,

Laser fire hit the back of the vehicle, sparks and metal flew about, Ben had dropped his rifle when he climbed in the back of the vehicle, the soldier on the roof of the vehicle fired back,

Mickey fired back too,

More laser fire and more ricocheted off the back doors of the vehicle and the surrounding area,

“give her some cover, come on Mickey” Ben shouted!

Mickey took a few hits to her back as she turned to get to the vehicle,

“Mickey” Ben scouted!

She fell forward and didn’t move.

The back doors to the vehicle closed automatically, Ben tried to hold them open, he was still shouting for Mickey!

The robot who was firing from the top turret fell to the floor, Ben pushed past him and climbed up to the turret, he took control of the mounted weapon and fired at anything moving,

The vehicle started to move off,

“hang on, hold up will you, man down, man down” Ben shouted!

The vehicle moved off,

“Mickey’s out there, stop the waggon pall” Ben yelled!

Laser fire hit the side of the vehicle, Ben fired back,

Mickey raised her head, her visor raised and she smiled,

Ben saw her,

“Mickey” he shouted!

She raised her arm and made the thumbs up sign,

Mickey shook as she took more laser fire into her body, she smiled and slumped to the ground, Ben watched her, he fired back at where the laser fire had come from with vengeance,

The vehicle took a sharp turn and bounced off away from where the trouble was, Ben shook his head and hung on,

The vehicle turned again, it shook violently as it went over security ramps, “get your head down” the sarge shouted out!

Ben looked forward and saw the low entrance to where they were going,

He ducked just in time.

The steel door closed as the vehicle passed through,

The vehicle stopped sharply,

Ben looked around, he tapped the mounted weapon he had been firing,

“ok then, time to come down from there, I know your pissed, we had to go, any longer and we probably would not be here now” the sarge growled,

“I should be out there with her, my partner, Mickey, this is all wrong” Ben growled back!

The steel door they had just come through shook as it took some hits from whatever was fired at it,

“shut down drills” the Sarge shouted into his radio,

The lights flickered and the movement of steel moving against steel was heard!

Ben slumped forward, he shook his head and closed his eyes,

“ok then, let’s get you down from there, need to lock off this loading bay, get us into the main office, we got some upset people out there, they like to take things into their own hands after work, it’s a rule here, me and my team control the entrance, egress of the draft twenty-four seven, the streets through working hours, after hours then it’s down to the them, that’s the way it goes here, everyone knows about you, there is a bounty on you and not your friend, your knowledge is priceless, sold on for the right price, not from me, I have to pass on all who is granted egress to this place” the sarge announced!

Ben turned to look at him, he climbed down and came out of the back of the vehicle,

Ben jumped to the ground,

He stood in front of the sarge,

They both looked at each other,

“ok earth man, full human you are, five hundred years plus beyond your life expectancy, terminal cancer, cured whilst you were frozen in stasis, your body, your mind still think you are forty five years old, won’t last for too long, you get out of this mess and you will end up as one of us, yes my lad, humanoid, it’s not that bad by the way, so come on, let’s get upstairs and talk, got some old school earth contraband that will interest you”,

“smokes, tobacco, hey I even got a bottle of Jack Daniels, the real stuff, come on soldier” the sarge said.

Ben looked hard at the sarge,

“not quite in the mood for that right now” Ben replied,

“lighten up, you’re alive aint you, five minutes more and you would have been lost to the draft, sold on to the highest bidder, for your knowledge and whatever more you have to offer, ok you lost your robot friend, minder, whatever it was to you, get another one” the sarge grumbled!

“for you information I am very thank full for your help back there, very, that so called robot happened to be the best friend I have ever known pal” Ben spoke out!

The sarge laughed,

“ah come on, I can get you better up to date model than that one, well out of date she was, ok she had some upgrades from your last two locations you were held at but you see these older models were always a bit twitchy, like too learn too much and get a bit clingy, some even learned how to get their own ways of thinking and dealing with things, sense of humor and all sorts of things, clients didn’t like this too much, what I say s what you do, simple as that, I don’t want to have to explain why just do it if you please, yes sir, yes my lady, that’s what they want and paid for, so anyway theses older models were used up and putt away, I was lucky, I was an old marine, I follow orders and get on with it, that wasn’t enough, now look at me”,

“I got my upgrades just as respect for me serving the corp for so many years, in the end they tried to finish me off, I wasn’t having it, got myself out, worked the mines for a while and moved on to this hovel, one last place for me now, the zone, out there, not too many people know about it, no one has ever returned, so my new friend, I have talked too much already, sorry for your loss, I’m an old used up humanoid, more metal now than sense, I’ll do what I can to get her back in here, you get up to my office up there, help yourself to my bottom drawer, let me get things secured here and locked down for the night, I will do what I can for her” the sarge announced, he pointed to where his office was and walked away,

Ben stared at him and nodded.

The sarge barked orders into his radio and checked a lit-up panel on the wall, the was echoing booms from outside somewhere in the caves in the draft,

Ben climbed the steel steps and went into the sarge’s office,

He sat down and checked the bottom drawer the sarge talked about,

There was a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey there, sealed, he noticed a few packets of cigarettes and a box of matches, Ben looked in to space for a moment, the thousand-yard stare,

Ben thought about Mickey, he opened the bottle of Whiskey and lit up a cigarette,

There was a radio system on the desk, he could hear the sarge talking away to other people.

Bits and pieces in English then robot dialect,

Ben heard a few more things that stirred him up, he wasn’t too sure what he heard spoken over the radio but he had an idea,

Ben had picked up a bit of robot / humanoid dialect over the years from Mickey so he did recognise some things / noises that were passed across,

He took another good swig from the bottle and lit another cigarette,

Ben turned on a monitor that was on the sarge’s desk,

Camera images cane into view, he watched what was going on outside in the caves of the draft.

There was a lot of flashes that messed up the camera footage,

Ben saw Mickey led in the street, she was crawling herself to the side, a few things fired at her and she fired back, another flash distorted the camera footage,

Ben saw a vehicle spin around in the tight roadway, it took incoming laser blasts, the robot looking figure who was in the top turret disappeared in a hail of shots, Mickey was slumped up against a door way, the sarge was outside of the vehicle firing his weapon wildly, Ben heard the sarge shouting over the radio, “abort, back to base, she’s finished” Ben heard, ben watched the monitor again, he took another big swig from the bottle and lit another cigarette,

The sarge looked at Mickey, she gave him the thumbs up sign, the sarge shot her and walked away,

Mickey slumped to the side as the sarge got back into the vehicle and sped off, robot looking things ran about, two scruffy looking things dragged Mickey off and out of site,

Ben stood up,

“alright, alright, I see, no need for that, taking to many shots, you killed her, I saw you, what is this shite” Ben growled! he sat down and drank some more,

Ben looked at the monitor, the screen went black, there was a message on the screen, terminal lost it said,

He stood up and looked about, there was a gun rack on the wall, Ben pulled one of the weapons out from it, he checked it but unsure how to use it, “star trek stuff or what” he growled to himself,

Ben banged the monitor hoping for some more views of what was happening outside,

The door to the sarge’s office swung inwards with a bit of force,

“what are you doing here, why are you holding one of our weapons” the robot announced, Ben turned in shock, the weapon he was holding went off,

The robot took a blast to its chest and flew back out of the doorway, it bounced down the steel steps,

“what the feck” Ben growled!

“sorry for that, you just barged in here giving orders, Friday the thirteenth is going on outside, shit, sorry, mistake yes, you ok down there, you got armour on, what the hell is going on here” Ben slurred?

A few more explosions were heard from outside, the place shook, the lights flickered and dust came down,

The plastic glass in the sarge’s office door shattered as laser fire hit it,

Someone, something was shouting in robot language!

Ben took cover, “easy tiger, things getting out of hand here, I have no weapon and I am coming out ok, just a big mistake, I can explain” Ben shouted back!

He slid the weapon out of the door, he showed his head and gave the thumbs up sign,

There was more shouting in robotic,

“a big mistake, I am very sorry, he shocked me after what seen going on outside, barged in through the door like that” Ben slurred,

Ben lost his grip on the door and fell forward, he banged the door and it slammed against the steel hand rail, more plastic glass fell out of the already broken window,

The robot at the bottom of the stairs fired,

“you have killed an officer of the entrance to the draft, termination is inevitable” the robot shouted in posh English,

“come on, where are we here, some film take from the terminator, easy pall, wait for the sarge to come in, he will explain” Ben called back!

Ben moved, he caught his boot on the door and it bashed against the steel hand rail again,

Another blast hit the door of the office,

“all right my friend, if that’s how you want to play it” Ben growled! he moved across the office floor,

Ben heard someone coming up the steel steps,

“easy tiger, I am unarmed, just get the sarge ok” Ben called out!

Robot language was heard,

“sarge is no longer with us I am afraid so now I am in charge, the entrance cannot control as wished with just my presence, I am so to be disengaged with this post, you caused this, the sarge tried to help your minder robot, he not come back, I arrest you now” the approaching robot announced!

“well over my dead body pall” Ben replied!

He rolled over and grabbed another weapon from the rack,

Ben checked it and waited for what he wasn’t too sure,

Someone shouted out!

“not finished yet by the way, looks like you upset my deputies, ok stand down everyone” the sarge bellowed!

He spoke out in robot dialect!

Ben heard no more noise of metal boots climbing the steel steps, he led there next to the desk aiming his weapon,

“ok son, not too sure what happened here but the shooting has to stop, got some gun ho colleagues working with me here, ex colleagues now by the looks of things” the sarge bellowed!

The sound of a laser blast was heard,

The robot who fired at Ben took a direct hit, he slumped to the steps and didn’t move,

“ok son, it’s all clear now, just you and me in this place, how about that drink and a chat about the zone, couldn’t help you friend out there, took a few wounds myself, she was finished, I tried” the sarge announced!

Ben stared at the sarge, the sarge stared back, there was a moment of silence in the air, the building shook again, an explosion was heard outside,

“I think you have really upset that rabble out there, it’s their entertainment time and it sounds like they want entertainment, they know me and not to cross the line, this place is the only law and order in this place, the committee out there denotes the other rules, if there is any more, they work all day in not so good conditions and enjoy themselves the best ways they can through to the next sun and then do it all over again, lives are lost that’s the way it is, the ore is sent to the mines, the mines refine it and send it on again, to whom i think you are aware of, once you’re in here there is no going back, told you that when you arrived here, only one other way and that’s out to the zone and there’s not too much i can say about that, just the rumours” the sarge announced,

Ben took another swig from the bottle, he passed it to the sarge, he took a big swig himself, “light us up one of those bad boys would you, all this action at my age has wacked me out” the sarge expressed, he sat down and stared at Ben,

“so tell me then, what happens now, there is no way i can go back out there and from the sounds of it they want me lynched, vigilante style, whatever sold to the highest bidder like you said, this zone you spoke about, how do you get there then” Ben asked?

The sarge took another big swig and smoked his cigarette, he smiled at Ben,

“well young earthman, you see the trouble is you don’t get there if you take my drift, they know you’re in here with me now, you took my other officers out and nearly me too, now if you was to just disappear so to speak i would be the one to be lynched and we can’t have that, i will have to think on this matter” the sarge added,

He took another swig and flicked the cigarette to the floor,

Ben lit another cigarette and stared at the sarge, he put his hand out and took the bottle, he took a good swig and handed it back,

Banging was heard from the lading bay where the vehicle was,

“those doors are solid, never had to hold that off though before, they get in here and all hell will break loose, i will have to call the committee and see what i can arrange, there is another bottle behind you in the other bottom drawer of that cabinet there, help yourself, got some contraband highs that i confiscated from things coming in here too, watch yourself though, some of those things will wipe you out till the next lunar moon” the sarge slurred,

Ben turned around, he pushed his wheeled chair to where the cabinet was, he opened the bottom drawer, he noticed a sinister looking blade in there as well, “looks very interesting” Ben exclaimed, the sarge was calling someone on his radio,

“hardly any signal in here, dammed things, I’ll have to try the intercom system, old school set up that does actually work” the sarge continued,

Ben took the knife out with the other bottle, he slipped the blade under his waist belt behind his back, “so i get it then, you smooth things out hopefully, I’ll tell everything i possible know about earth, we get pissed, get high as kites and talk shit for a few hours, pass out and see what the next sun set brings, ok but i would like to know about this zone thing and how you get there, sounds interesting, do tell sarge” Ben announced,

The sarge looked back at Ben, he spoke in robot dialect into the intercom speaker, robot talk came back, “yes sir, he is in good order, had an accident with my other two officers that will be explained, yes sir i will arrange a meeting for the next sun set then, of course i will sir, yes good evening to you too” the sarge spoke in English and pushed the button on the intercom,

The sarge looked at Ben, the noise outside stopped, the lights flickered and came back on properly,

“well Ben, you and me here tonight then, meeting in twenty lunar, i can get food and female company for us later if you wish, we got plenty of drink and smokes, those highs if you need them, i tend to leave them alone, too much for me, sell them on to them out there when i can, yes we can chat about the old times so we can, i want to know your story, heard a lot of bits and pieces but want to hear from the horse’s mouth what really happened, five hundred years out there with that humanoid thing, come on talk to me” the sarge exclaimed,

The two of them drank some more, they smoked the old style cigarettes, Ben told the sarge what he had been through with Mickey,

“so then sarge, you going to talk to me about the zone and how to get there if it really exists” Ben exclaimed,

“sure, why not, on the base that is just interest purposes only of course, i don’t you absconding in the quiet time, you are worth too much too me for that soldier blue” the sarge slurred,

Ben passed him the bottle again, they drank some more and smoked,

“under the vehicle there is the usual old school vehicle inspection pit, there is a steel panel that will come out, posh in one of the screws and it will release, there is a tunnel way, maybe a hundred links long, the air is not to good down there, stale air, the usual bugs and shit, at the end of the tunnel there is another hatch, airlock actually, there is a handle to unlock the door, once inside you have to depressurise and then you can release the other door panel, there is another tunnel, not too long that leads out to the zone, there are dunes, big sand dunes and not too much more, there is life out there somewhere so i have been told and what i have seen for myself, I’ve been to the end of the tunnel, a long while back, saw some things out there that opened my eyes for sure, maybe one day when I know my time is up” the sarge waffled on,

The intercom on the wall buzzed,

“hello, now that hardly ever rings ever, obviously about you your highness” the sarge announced

he pulled himself up and went to the intercom, it buzzed again.

Ben watched and listened, he sat there and lit a cigarette,

The sarge talked, slurred on the intercom and hung up, “have been ordered to keep you secure, till the next half sun, eleven lunar hours, have to take you down town for a meeting, got some clean better looking suit for you to wear, look like me, a man of the law, might help you maybe, probably not though” the sarge exclaimed and shook his head,

“and that means” Ben replied,

The sarge lit a cigarette and took a drink from the nearly empty bottle,

He looked at Ben,

“I see in your eyes what you intend to do son, going to put me in so much bother so it will” the sarge announced,

“come with me then” Ben replied,

The sarge stared at Ben.

“what the hell, for sure I’m in the shit anyway, three colleague’s dead, me close to entertainment age and this evening mess, so what the hell, you and me kiddo, the zone, we have much to sort out I think” the sarge announced,

The intercom buzzed again,

Sarge went and answered it,

“yes sir, I have him sedated for the next eleven clicks, we are locked down for half sun up, yes sir, thank you, they are in storage till we can arrange protocol procedure” the sarge announced, he clicked the button and looked at Ben,

“well I think we are both for the knackers yard, those old smoke heads, talk shit, I know what they want, I am sorry for your friend, I did what I thought was right, they would of done worse things, I know you know, I see it in your eyes, you wanted to kill me for that, now I see different eyes” the sarge announced,

Ben put his cigarette out, “so what now then sarge” he asked?

“We take the truck, didn’t mention that to you huh, there is a way I think, I hope, never done it, calculated it many a time, there is a way out there, I know of a tunnel that was closed down many moon ago, found some old charts and maps and considered stuff that I was not supposed to, yes got found out and lost a few privileges” sarge growled!

“ok roger that, so you think we can do it then, the vehicle, me and you, the zone and another chapter, for both of us” Ben exclaimed,

The sarge nodded.

“I did say I would venture out there when the time was right, the time is right then” sarge replied,

“roger that, lets finish off here then, fix me up with a better suit like you said and lets lock and load amigo” Ben exclaimed,

Ben stared at the sarge, the sarge stared back, there was a moment of silence in the air, the building shook again, an explosion was heard outside,

“I think you have really upset that rabble out there, it’s their entertainment time and it sounds like they want entertainment, they know me and not to cross the line, this place is the only law and order in this place, the committee out there denotes the other rules, if there is any more, they work all day in not so good conditions and enjoy themselves the best ways they can through to the next sun and then do it all over again, lives are lost that’s the way it is, the ore is sent to the mines, the mines refine it and send it on again, to whom i think you are aware of, once you’re in here there is no going back, told you that when you arrived here, only one other way and that’s out to the zone and there’s not too much i can say about that, just the rumours” the sarge announced,

Ben took another swig from the bottle, he passed it to the sarge, he took a big swig himself, “light us up one of those bad boys would you, all this action at my age has wacked me out” the sarge expressed, he sat down and stared at Ben,

“so tell me then, what happens now, there is no way i can go back out there and from the sounds of it they want me lynched, vigilante style, whatever sold to the highest bidder like you said, this zone you spoke about, how do you get there then” Ben asked?

The sarge took another big swig and smoked his cigarette, he smiled at Ben,

“well young earthman, you see the trouble is you don’t get there if you take my drift, they know you’re in here with me now, you took my other officers out and nearly me too, now if you was to just disappear so to speak i would be the one to be lynched and we can’t have that, i will have to think on this matter” the sarge added,

He took another swig and flicked the cigarette to the floor,

Ben lit another cigarette and stared at the sarge, he put his hand out and took the bottle, he took a good swig and handed it back,

Banging was heard from the lading bay where the vehicle was,

“those doors are solid, never had to hold that off though before, they get in here and all hell will break loose, i will have to call the committee and see what i can arrange, there is another bottle behind you in the other bottom drawer of that cabinet there, help yourself, got some contraband highs that i confiscated from things coming in here too, watch yourself though, some of those things will wipe you out till the next lunar moon” the sarge slurred,

Ben turned around, he pushed his wheeled chair to where the cabinet was, he opened the bottom drawer, he noticed a sinister looking blade in there as well, “looks very interesting” Ben exclaimed, the sarge was calling someone on his radio,

“hardly any signal in here, dammed things, I’ll have to try the intercom system, old school set up that does actually work” the sarge continued,

Ben took the knife out with the other bottle, he slipped the blade under his waist belt behind his back, “so i get it then, you smooth things out hopefully, I’ll tell everything i possible know about earth, we get pissed, get high as kites and talk shit for a few hours, pass out and see what the next sun set brings, ok but i would like to know about this zone thing and how you get there, sounds interesting, do tell sarge” Ben announced,

The sarge looked back at Ben, he spoke in robot dialect into the intercom speaker, robot talk came back, “yes sir, he is in good order, had an accident with my other two officers that will be explained, yes sir i will arrange a meeting for the next sun set then, of course i will sir, yes good evening to you too” the sarge spoke in English and pushed the button on the intercom,

The sarge looked at Ben, the noise outside stopped, the lights flickered and came back on properly, “well Ben, you and me here tonight then, meeting in twenty lunar, i can get food and female company for us later if you wish, we got plenty of drink and smokes, those highs if you need them, i tend to leave them alone, too much for me, sell them on to them out there when i can, yes we can chat about the old times so we can, i want to know your story, heard a lot of bits and pieces but want to hear from the horse’s mouth what really happened, five hundred years out there with that humanoid thing, come on talk to me” the sarge exclaimed,

The two of them drank some more, they smoked the old style cigarettes, Ben told the sarge what he had been through with Mickey,

“so then sarge, you going to talk to me about the zone and how to get there if it really exists” Ben exclaimed,

“sure, why not, on the base that is just interest purposes only of course, i don’t you absconding in the quiet time, you are worth too much too me for that soldier blue” the sarge slurred,

Ben passed him the bottle again, they drank some more and smoked,

“under the vehicle there is the usual old school vehicle inspection pit, there is a steel panel that will come out, posh in one of the screws and it will release, there is a tunnel way, maybe a hundred links long, the air is not to good down there, stale air, the usual bugs and shit, at the end of the tunnel there is another hatch, airlock actually, there is a handle to unlock the door, once inside you have to depressurise and then you can release the other door panel, there is another tunnel, not too long that leads out to the zone, there are dunes, big sand dunes and not too much more, there is life out there somewhere so i have been told and what i have seen for myself, I’ve been to the end of the tunnel, a long while back, saw some things out there that opened my eyes for sure, maybe one day when i know my time is up” the sarge waffled on,

The intercom on the wall buzzed,

“hello, now that hardly ever rings ever, obviously about you your highness” the sarge announced

he pulled himself up and went to the intercom, it buzzed again.

Ben watched and listened, he sat there and lit a cigarette,

The sarge talked, slurred on the intercom and hung up, “have been ordered to keep you secure, till the next half sun, eleven lunar hours, have to take you down town for a meeting, got some clean better looking suit for you to wear, look like me, a man of the law, might help you maybe, probably not though” the sarge exclaimed and shook his head,

“and that means” Ben replied,

The sarge lit a cigarette and took a drink from the nearly empty bottle,

He looked at Ben,

“I saw in your eyes what you intended to do son, going to put me in so much bother so it will” the sarge announced,

“come with me then” Ben replied,

The sarge stared at Ben.

“what the hell, for sure I’m in the shit anyway, three colleague’s dead, me close to entertainment age and this evening mess, so what the hell, you and me kiddo, the zone, we have much to sort out I think” the sarge announced,

The intercom buzzed again,

Sarge went and answered it,

“yes sir, I have him sedated for the next eleven clicks, we are locked down for half sun up, yes sir, thank you, they are in storage till we can arrange protocol procedure” the sarge announced, he clicked the button and looked at Ben,

“well I think we are both for the knackers yard, those old smoke heads, talk shit, I know what they want, I am sorry for your friend, I did what I thought was right, they would of done worse things, I know you know, I see it in your eyes, you wanted to kill me for that, now I see different eyes” the sarge announced,

Ben put his cigarette out, “so what now then sarge” he asked?

“We take the truck, didn’t mention that to you huh, there is a way I think, I hope, never done it, calculated it many a time, there is a way out there, I know of a tunnel that was closed down many moon ago, found some old charts and maps and considered stuff that I was not supposed to, yes got found out and lost a few privileges” sarge growled!

“ok roger that, so you think we can do it then, the vehicle, me and you, the zone and another chapter, for both of us” Ben exclaimed,

The sarge nodded.

“I did say I would venture out there when the time was right, the time is right then” sarge replied,

“roger that, lets finish off here then, fix me up with a better suit like you said and lets lock and load amigo” Ben exclaimed,

The sarge laughed out loud!

“let’s get you that suit then, check it fits and the 02 breathing device is tip top, got plenty of weapons here, take your pick from over there, I’ll be back in a minute, we can check the truck out then, hang tight soldier” the sarge ordered!

Ben nodded, he looked over to the gun cabinet, the sarge left the office and went down the steel steps,

Ben checked the weapons out,

He found two he liked, not too big and not too heavy, he looked around the rest of the office whilst the sarge was away,

There was a locked door next to the toilet room he noticed as he was having a pee,

Ben pulled hard on the handle and it opened.

He finished what he was doing and opened the door, the room was in darkness, Ben felt around and found a light switch, he flicked the switch and the light came on,

There were metal container stacked up and secured with metal lock devices, there was one that was not secured, Ben opened the kid and looked inside,

He picked up a leather bag and undone the strap that closed the top, Ben felt something like stones inside, he poured them into his hand,

“You have been a busy old git haven’t you” Ben said to himself, he stared at the shiny stones in his hand,

Ben nodded and put the stones back into the bag, he was about to close the door when the sarge appeared,

“I see you’ve found my seized contraband store room then, the committee down here do not want this stuff circulating around in the draft, from long ago past experiences it just causes un-necessary problems here, so when we get new comers here i scan the vehicles and whatever else, anything i find that’s not permitted here i confiscate until they wish to leave,” the sarge announced, he cleared his voice! !nobody ever leaves this place, the last place god made someone once said, anyway i think we take them with us and see if we can use them to barter out there in the zone, who knows eh kid” the sarge continued,

“Roger that” Ben replied.

“so let’s get you out of that busted up suit and try one of my new upgraded types on, they were meant to be a surprise for the rest of my team that you didn’t quite get on with, bunch of lazy outcasts anyway, follow me Ben” the sarge exclaimed and walked off, Ben shook his head and followed on. Sarge made his way down the steel steps and into another office, Ben followed him in,

“Right you go then, there it is, all charged up, get it on and let’s see what teething problems we may have” sarge announced, he lit a cigarette and watched Ben fight his way out of the humanoid suit Mickey had got for him,

“Need some help here” Ben moaned,

“Can see that, took a bit of a bashing so you have, if it wasn’t for the armour you would, well just let’s say, you wouldn’t be coming out to the zone with me, put it that way, right, hang on, this is going to pinch a little” the sarge exclaimed and forced the locking clamps apart at the back of Bens suit, “going to have to cut this a bit, hang on, sharp scratch coming” sarge added and snipped bits of the aluminium, “arrrr” Ben groaned,

“quiet down there, call yourself an ex soldier, sharp scratch again” sarge continued, Ben bit his teeth together as the sarge had to the force the rear of the suit from Ben,

The two of them fought with the old suit getting it off Ben and go the new suit adjusted,

“Nice and snug in there” sarge asked?

“snug as a bug, i feel the power, breathing is good” Ben announced, he raised his visor,

“Grip the metal arm on that chair, i want you to squeeze as hard as you can” sarge told him!

Ben grabbed the metal arm and squeezed, it squashed like putty,

Ben nodded,

Sarge showed him what other surprises came with the suit the same as he had on his,

They checked radio comms between them and went over other things with the suit that Ben didn’t know about,

“right then, lets sort the truck out, load up supplies and the contraband from my store room, power cylinders, water and co2 all ready loaded, i see you’ve already picked a few weapons, i suggest you grab more, plenty of clips and power chargers, where we are going we will need them” sarge growled!

“with you all the way, let’s get cracking then” Ben replied and the two of them went to work.

An hour or so passed, Sarge went into the other office and sat at the desk, he turned a monitor and watched the screen,

Ben finished loading power bottles into the back of the truck and went into the office,

“ok partner, all is loaded and secured” Ben announced as he walked in,

Sarge looked up from the monitor, “come see lad” he said softly,

Ben looked at the monitor, Sarge pointed to one of the smaller screens on the main screen, he enlarged it, “they took your Mickey friend and I saw some of the committee members go into the recreation café, at this time of the half-moon that never happens, way past their bed times for this, seen some un-savoury characters go in there too, also there is a truck poking out of that side cut through, just see the back of it, it’s been armoured up, no trucks, no anything mobilised in any form is allowed here except for my own policing vehicles, that was what they wanted, we got something brewing out there, too much sneaky movement, I got cameras out there that the committee doesn’t know about, for my own protection and my ex colleagues, like to know what’s going on beyond my own eyes” sarge announced,

“and, you are saying what” Ben asked?

“I am saying that we need to move out of here, I saw some nasty looking hardware being loaded into the back of that truck out there, I think they’re going to hit my place, no trust, want you before I do something daft, pass out, you escape somewhere, we don’t have much time, come on” the sarge growled!

Sarge stood up and walked out, Ben followed on, “need to rig up some surprises like I said to whoever comes in here when we are not” Sarge exclaimed,

“Right on, what you got” Ben asked?

“black box under the stairs, pull the cover off and take a look inside, old school stuff, you’ll probably recognise a few things in there no dought” Sarge added,

Ben removed the lid and looked inside,

“Oh yes for sure we can get a few surprises rigged up with this lot” Ben expressed,

Ben didn’t hang around, he started to pull stuff out of the box,

“Claymores, trip flares, mini flares, flash bangs, what’s this i see here, sem tex packed and primed, this is just music to my ears amigo”

“there’s a few grenades in there too i believe, you get to work on them surprises and ill sort the truck out, move out in thirty clicks” sarge announced, “roger that” Ben replied and got to work,

Ben was whistling as he was unravelling a length of detonator cord,

The sarge looked back as he walked towards the truck and shook his head, “ay lad, you keep whistling” he said softly,

The sarge climbed into the back of the truck, there were no side doors, he climbed his way to the front and started to check the controls.

The truck started up, it was quiet, just the hum of the power turbines turning over, six rubber wheels, just enough room to hold two up front and two in the back, not too big built had plenty of amour and fire power and more when needed, sarge her moved forward and reversed back,

Sarge continued to do other checks on the vehicle,

Ben was in his comfort zone since a long time, he knew what he was doing and happily knew what was going on for once, he linked up C4 explosive charges to the main entrance to the control point, put semtex packs strapped to mini flares connected to trip wires in places where they would be most effective, all doorways had some sort of booby trap device with them, the sarge appeared from the top hatch, “make sure you fix the shutter up, should be a remote device we can prime from the vehicle when were clear, i want this place to go to hell and they will remember me for it, it’s my payback now, rig it up good boy and lets be on our way” the sarge growled!

Ben gave the thumbs up sign to him and carried on.

The sarge watched him and smiled to himself,

Ben set up the claymore and attached the remote detonator he found in the box to it, he climbed into the back of the truck,

“Ready when you are skipper” he announced,

Sarge pushed a button and the back door shut itself, tight.

The steel dented shutters started to rise,

Ben was sat next to the sarge up front, sarge was in control of the truck and they moved off, the truck took a hard right turn and stopped next to the steel shutters that was the only entry point to the draft tunnels, “set the remote please, two more gates to get through, going to be really tight, this thing was not designed to leave this place, the gates are not too big, once out there we keep right and will have to smash or blast a hole through a wall that’s concealed, hidden away, leads to another tunnel, forgotten about as i was told many a year ago, had another partner some time back, we found a map and details of this tunnel that will lead to the unknown zone when we checked some things coming in here, anyways we both made sure it was sealed up and hidden over time, only me and him could know the exact point where to break through otherwise you’ll be just be making another tunnel forever, any way after time he got to thinking about making off with our confiscated contraband as you know, started blabbing off one entertainment moon when we could be seen out there on the streets, use the cafe’s try to control some sort of law and order down here”,

“well that all changed over time, the only law and order what there is, is to on the entrance checkpoint and that is it, the committee members would control the rest, so there you have it, hold on its going to get a bit rough soon, press that button up there if you would, shut the shutter and flick the other black one to the right, will open the outer shutter gate” the sarge exclaimed,

He guided the truck into the small gap, metal to metal grinding, scraping noises could be heard, the truck stopped sharply,

“Knew that was going to happen, hang on kiddo” sarge growled out!

He gave the truck more power and more again, the truck jerked forward and free of the narrow entrance,

“There’s tight and there’s tight but that was too tight” Ben commented!

“ye, as tight as a nun’s, and we’ll just stoop that right there i think, no need to blaspheme just right now, need all the help and luck we can possible get from anyone up above or down below” sarge exclaimed.

Ben stared at him and nodded, the sarge turned the truck around the corner and carried on, the tunnel was tight, the sides of the truck struck the sides as she bounced along,

Ok let’s hold tight here, need to concentrate, we can’t go too far or the remote will lose the range”,

“me and you go and find the right point to bust through when the time is right I think, we have time” the sarge announced,

“roger that skipper, you give the word and I push the button” Ben replied,

We got time yet, seven clicks, third of a new moon, half a lunar sun, three hours to you earth man” sarge announced,

The two of the got out of the back of the truck and walked down the tunnel,

Sarge and Ben turned on their helmet torch beams and looked around, there was no other lighting in the tunnel, they walked on until they came to a junction and stopped, the sarge checked the small led screen on his wrist, he pointed to the left folk and they carried on,

“ok then, should be around here somewhere” the sarge announced, he pointed again, this time at the wall, there was a small luminous marker on it,

“there you go, going to be another tight fit, this is the widest part as well, it’s just a little further down there and that’s where we bust out of here, will have to re-build it back up though, don’t want to invite others to this secret do we, a bit of hard graft, little bit of sweat won’t hurt, right then, back to the truck, not too long to wait and then we start the fireworks” sarge exclaimed and walked back to where they left the truck.

Ben nodded and followed on.

“right then, how about a little tipple to watch the firework display, well hear the display anyway, don’t want to be that close do we lad” the sarge expressed,

“and why not, what’s on the menu this time” Ben asked?

“but of course the best bourbon on this planet for sure, nearly as old as you and your voyage together, with good old Virginia tobacco and some smoked sausages, why not eh, you and me going into no man’s land, the zone, in you get kiddo” the sarge announced and followed Ben into the truck,

the two of them got comfortable in the front and sarge closed the back door.

They drank the bourbon and smoked, the sausages were eaten and enjoyed,

“push that nipple son, remember your friend” sarge said,

Ben looked hard at him for a second, inside he was hurting, he saw what happened on the computer monitor, he saw the sarge shoot Mickey out there, Ben didn’t have many options, play the game until you don’t have to play any longer, Ben thought to himself,

Sarge looked at him, they both stared at each other for a moment,

Sarge nodded, “push that button and lets diddy out of here compadres”,

Ben looked at him, he looked at the remote in his hand,

Ben pushed the button,

A second later there was a bright flash in the tunnel followed by a loud rumble, the tunnel shook,

“there is going to be some very upset people, back there, did I say people, ha, things, yes things, half people, like me, right here we go then” the sarge growled!

The truck jerked forward and swung around the corner,

Thick black dust filled the tunnel,

“ok pal, bear with me, visibility nil” the sarge growled,

The truck bounced over the rough ground, the sarge out the brakes on,

“right then, more fireworks” sarge expressed,

He pressed a few buttons, a shield came down covering the front screen,

Sarge pushed another button,

The vehicle jerked as a bolt of power was fire from it, the sarge fired again,

The truck shook,

“need to hang on a minute, let the dust settle, we go through and rebuild the hole, light one of those fire crackers up for me will you, feel the need to smoke and drink some, pass that bottle over mate” the sarge announced,

Ben did what was asked of him,

“here’s a question for you boss, all this blasting down here, theses tunnels can take this” Ben asked?

“all depends how hard you hit them, no they don’t like it and we need to pack that hole up pretty pronto” Sarge replied,

The truck moved forward, it bounced over the fallen rocks as it went through the gap,

Sarge stopped the truck,

“right then, let’s go to work” he growled!

“why bother with this, does it matter really, cover up the hole we just made, for what actually” Ben asked?

Sarge looked hard at Ben,

“do you know what, you have a good point there, for what, why not blast it some more, might get a cave in, who gives a damn anyway”,

“were finished back there and there is only one way for us now, forward, the zone and whatever is out there for us, ok laddie, time for some more firecrackers, having you around me is the best news for a long time, you give me glow inside, lets blow this nightmare” the sarge growled!

“right on skipper, you know it makes sense,

Blast that tunnel and let’s crack on” Ben announced,

Sarge nodded and flicked some switches on the dashboard.

The truck shook as two bolts of power were fired from the rear, the truck bounced off as fast as the sarge could get it to move before the mines caves came down,

Sarge fought with the controls for a good ten minutes, the cave did come down and so did other parts, the blast caused a domino effect,

“hold on partner” not too sure what we’ll find on the other side, sand most probably” sarge announced, he pushed some buttons, the truck jerked and stopped when sarge applied the brakes,

Parts of the cave walls hit the windscreen,

Visibility was nil,

The truck shook and took some large knocks from falling rocks,

Sarge gave the truck some power, there was struggling disturbing noise from the truck as it struggle to free itself,

“come on you bitch” the sarge shouted!

The truck jerked forward, bright light lit the tunnel, Ben pointed forward,

“I see it lad” sarge bellowed!

The truck jerked forward and bounced over the fallen rocks, the sarge manoeuvred it through the broken hole and into the bright sunlight.

The truck bounced around and tipped over,

It rolled down a slope and came to a halt as it hit something hard,

Ben opened his eyes, he felt pressure around his chest and shoulders,

He looked about and realized he was strapped in with the truck seat belt and upside down, he looked at where the sarge should have been, there was big hole in the side of the truck where sarge was last sat, his seat was buckled and broken seat straps dangled down,

“holly crap, what now, I knew it, something went wrong again” Ben groaned,

He fought with the straps but didn’t get anywhere, his own weight on the straps was stopping him release them,

The truck moved and tipped over again,

Ben hung on his side, he grabbed his knife and cut the straps,

“sarge” Ben called out!

He pulled himself up and looked through the cracked wind shield,

His visor raised up when he moved his cheek muscle, Ben squinted his eyes as the bright light hit him,

He closed his visor quickly as he realized he couldn’t breathe,

The visor was tinted so he could see better,

The truck jerked, there was smell of burning in the air,

Ben checked himself over, he ached but felt ok,

“sarge you ok out there, truck in a mess here, I smell burning, you out there having a fag, I’ll be with you now, just give me five” Ben called out!

Ben pulled himself to the hole where sarge was sat, he looked out, the truck was on its side, Bens side so he pulled himself though the broken metal hole in the side of the truck,

Ben climbed onto the side of the truck,

He looked around holding his weapon ready,

The LED transparent screen in front of his left eye was heat signals close to where he was, there was a fading one even closer that concerned him the most, “sarge, you hang on in there mate” Ben whispered,

He climbed off the truck and took up another defensive position,

Ben moved slowly around the sand dune,

Sarge was led there in the sand, Ben could see marks in the sand where he had been crawling around and scuffling with something,

Ben scanned the area, there were three other heat signals a few hundred metres out somewhere and closing in,

Ben knelt next to the sarge, “easy sarge, let’s have a look at you then” Ben announced and slowly turned him over,

“arrrrrh” the sarge groaned, “easy kiddo, busted up here, took two of them out, close quarters, scavengers for sure, the rest scampered off after trying their luck on me, tried to get them away from you and the truck” the sarge coughed out,

“suggest I get you back to the truck, your visors cracked and you’ve got a few dents that need addressing, come on before whatever other things out there come sniffing around for more action” Ben exclaimed,

He pulled the Sarge up with a struggle and the two of them staggered back to the truck.

Sarge pointed over to some rocks, Ben looked over and two busted up scavenger things what lived out here, “the air out here is breathable for them just, don’t know how they do it though, no good for us though, getting hard for me to breath” the sarge groaned,

Ben dragged the sarge to the side of the truck, he gave him a weapon and climbed back inside through the side hole, the back door swung open, Ben jumped out, he pulled the sarge inside and closed the door,

Ben pulled some fix it tape and cover, he sealed the hole in the side of the truck,

Ben gave the sarge some drugs to ease the pain, he took the helmet off the sarge, there was breathable co2 in the back of the truck,

Ben patched the sarge up the best he could,

“Need to turn this truck over if we are to stand any chance out here and pronto, got some hydraulic supports in here somewhere, they should do the trick” Sarge growled out as Ben did what he could for him,

“Good to be breathing properly again I tell you, thanks kiddo” Sarge added,

“Should be a spare helmet under the seat there” Sarge said and pointed,

Ben found it and passed it over, the sarge lit a cigarette and smiled, “you want half of this” he asked?

Ben nodded and took his own helmet off,

The two of them enjoyed the cigarette; sarge was feeling better after the pain relief relaxants and the breathable air,

Ben found the hydraulic jack, he replaced his helmet and pulled the jack outside, he started to dig under the side of the truck

The sarge put his new helmet on and climbed out of the truck too, the back door stayed open in case they had to take cover, Ben stood up, “ok, we use straps to pull from this side when the time is right, you get them tied off lad I’ll start this jack off” sarge ordered!

Ben clambered into the back of the truck and found the straps, he got onto the side of truck and tied them off, Ben jumped to the sandy ground just as something ricocheted off the steel truck, another projectile hit the truck.

“Old school weapons, get on those straps lad, the truck is going up” Sarge announced, he rolled around the side of the dune that was covering the truck and fired off a few bursts from his own rifle,

Ben pulled hard on the straps, the sarge came back round and helped pull on the straps too,

Another projectile bounced off the truck,

“here we go, mind yourself in case she rolls right over again, I’ll pull on the other side and try to even the tip over” sarge exclaimed, the truck tipped over, sarge pulled hard to stop it tipping over again on the soft sand,

“We got movement pretty close” Ben announced as he scanned the area,

“In we get then, let’s see if we can get this tin can moving and have a more civilized fight” sarge bellowed, as he was getting in the back he took a hit to his leg,

“arrrrgh” the sarge called out and clambered into the truck, get the door closed and start her up lad” the sarge growled, “I’ll be up there in a minute” sarge added and fumbled around in the back of the truck,

Ben tried the start button, there was just a clicking noise, “sounds like we have sand in the turbines, need to blow them out, I’m coming, you get on that gun up top, were taking too many pops at us” sarge growled!

Ben eased past the sarge and fought with the top hatch handle,

“Can’t open it” Ben exclaimed,

“Give it some wellie man” sarge replied and fought with the controls up front,

Ben gave the locking handle a bash with the end of his rifle, it moved and he pushed it open, Ben popped his head up, another shot bounced off the truck close to him, Ben reloaded the cannon on top of the truck, he fired at where he thought the projectiles were coming from, he could still see the heat signs, they had split up,

The truck made a weird noise as sarge cleared the cylinders,

The engine turbines came to life,

“Right then me beauty, let’s see if we can move you then” sarge bellowed!

The truck jerked forward slightly then rolled back into the hole it was already in,

Sarge gave it more power, the turbines roared with strain, the truck jerked forward again, sarge gave the truck all the power he could and it came free with such force that the truck bashed into a large pile of rocks,

Ben was bashed about and cursed, more shots hit the truck, an explosion went off to the side of them, “got themselves some bigger toys I see, hit them hard kid, I see they are trying to hit us from all sides, hold on kiddo” the sarge called out and bounced the truck round the sand dune.

The truck bounced over broken rocks and other strange things strewn about, “twenty yards to the left, eleven o clock, some dark rocks” Ben spoke into his mike inside his helmet,

“roger that” Sarge replied, the truck turned to the left, something hit the turret, ben couldn’t move it to fire,

“taking incoming up here, turret jammed, only got small arms to fire back” Ben yelled!

“got some other tricks on this girl, keep your head down laddie” sarge growled,

Ben fired until his weapon’s power ran low, he ducked down just in time as a missile hit the side of the truck, metal splinters flew around,

Ben took a few scrapes to his helmet and cursed!

Sarge flicked a few switches in the front of the truck, tracking a heat signal” sarge yelled!

The truck jerked and a flash of light few from it towards where the sarge aimed at, the was a booming noise from way off, “heat signal gone, next please” sarge shouted!

“you’re loving this ain’t you” Ben announced!

“just get that turret sorted if you please, got another heat signal six o clock from us, he’s fired something, big heat coming towards us” sarge growled!

Ben fought with the turret, it wouldn’t move, the metal was melted, Ben pulled the mounting pin out of the cannon, it fell into his arms, “weighs a tonne this thing, will do my best if you stop throwing me around up here” Ben replied,

The truck turned hard and bounced towards where sarge saw the heat signals come from,

A flash of light just missed the truck and hit the sand dune behind them, the dune went up a roar!

“getting brave so they are, bigger guns I see, hang on lad” sarge bellowed!

The truck swung around,

Ben held on and tried to aim the cannon,

The truck bounced on, it jerked when sarge fired the front Gatling guns,

Ben fired as well,

“two down one to go then, hang on, can you see him kiddo” sarge shouted?

Ben scanned the area, “not seen” he shouted back!

Another flash flew past them and exploded into a sand dune close by,

“sneaky little bugger, getting annoyed here so I am, find him Ben, the trucks over heating here” sarge called out!

Ben looked around, he couldn’t see any heat signals, no movement out there from anything, he scanned again,

“gone to ground, no sign of him, last picked him up two o clock of us, hundred yards off, dark scar on the side of the dune over there” Ben announced,

The truck turned to where Ben told the sarge of the location,

“we need to take cover somewhere, find this scumbag on foot, trucks a bit poorly lad” the sarge announced,

“roger that, find some cover fast then, wooow, incoming again” Ben shouted as a rocket flew into the sand next to them, the ground blew up and rocked the truck, “seal bust, need your help in here” the sarge yelled!

Sarge turned the truck behind another sand dune and stopped,

The side of the truck thudded and an explosion was heard outside,

Ben fell inside, “don’t know what’s out there but we are taking a pounding, I only have one living heat source showing on the scanner” Ben, fifty yards out, two o clock of us” Ben growled!

The truck shook again as it took another hit, the sarge fought with the broken sealed hole in the side of the truck,

“keep blasting back kid, got the engine fixing its self-whilst I mend this hole, hit them hard son” sarge bellowed!

Ben jumped to the ground, he had grabbed a few more weapons from inside,

He climbed his way up a sand dune,

Ben led against a rock, he peeped round,

Sand and rock blew up around him,

Ben fired back and as hard as he could, military skills came flooding back to him, he rolled to a new position after he fired and kept doing this, whoever was firing could not lock on to his position,

There was an explosion to Bens rear,

He turned around and saw the truck in a ball of flames, it exploded again!

Ben rolled down the sand dune and hid behind a large rock, he stared at the burning, busted up truck and thought of the sarge,

He shook his head, “no chance” he said to himself,

Ben scanned the area, there was no movement, no heat signals, nothing, it went weirdly silent, the only noise was from the burning truck, Ben stared at it and moved closer, hoping he would bump into the sarge,

The heat was too hot to get too close, Ben sat against the sand dune and watched the truck burn.

The translucent screen next to his eye showed a heat source moving on the other side of the sand dune he was leant against,

Ben checked his weapon and thought quickly,

He moved away from the sand dune and scampered round the truck to another dune on the other side of the truck, he took cover behind a large rock and waited,

A figure covered in sand covered rags came into view, ben’s suit was coloured in sand camouflage patches and stripes, the sarge sorted this out prior to them leaving, a few tins of spray paint,

Ben pushed the button on his weapon, nothing happened,he pushed again and looked down at it,

There was a red light showing, low power, the two other weapons led next to him, he didn’t want to move, the sandy figure looked about, Ben could see a humanoid suit underneath the rags,

The two of them stared at each other, there was a strange pause from both Ben and this thing who had killed the sarge and was trying to kill him, Ben went for the weapon at his feet, the sand man fired a power shot, it hit the weapon ben went for and bounced away, Ben looked at the other weapon at his feet, he looked at the sand man who shook his head,

Ben sat back and put his hands up,

“all right mate, you win, my power is all gone anyway, game over, do what you have to do, whatever you are” Ben announced,

The sand man came a little bit closer, it took the sand rags off his head and swung open the rags from his torso,

Ben coughed!

“Mickey, Mickey is that you” Ben called out!

“yes sir, and may I say what a shock it is too see you too by the way” Mickey exclaimed,

Ben got to his feet and came forward, Mickey walked towards ben too,

The two of them hugged,

“I thought you were finished back there, I saw the sarge shoot you and you were dragged off, how did you get out here friend, my partner, who” Ben asked as he stepped back,

“bit of a long storey, this place is no secret I found out, they tried to break me, tried their ways to get information out of me, I told them all I could and wanted to and some more, the council or governors were happy, they excepted me and what skills I already have could be put to uses and a lot more, most of the humanoids there were to lost upstairs to be of better scientific mechanical technology works, unlike me of course, they needed me, so I was given to someone who fixed me up and showed me things, anyway one thing led to another, I found a small tunnel shaft that led to here, was sealed off in points that I got through and well I ended up here, there is some strange looking things out here by the way, they have been hunting me for a while, we need to do some thinking” Mickey expressed,

“I am so happy to see you, to have you back, I was lost my mate” Ben announced,

“ok, enough of the soft talk, we need to get tough, check those weapons soldier, yes get your soldier head on please, we need to move from here, I found a place, come on” Mickey replied,

Ben nodded and followed on, the two of them kept as low as they could, they scouted around another sand dune and stopped next to some rocks, “there’s caves over there, looks like someone, things have been dwelling there in the past, there is CO2 machines and a lot more other stuff that I am not too sure about, looks like people left in a hurry, from what who knows, just know one thing, I charged my O2 there so that’s where we are going for the time being” Mickey ordered!

“roger that amigo, I’m on your tail, you lead the way” Ben replied, Mickey patted Ben on the shoulder, she scampered off from rock to rock, Ben covered her as she moved, she covered him as he caught up,

Something ricocheted off the rock next to Mickey, she aimed and fired back, Ben crouched where he was and did the same,

There was a cry from ahead, “got no heat signals, nothing living out there” Ben said quietly,

“I know, must be robots, droids of some sort, humanoids complete changeover to robots, I don’t know, I am going to check it out, cover me” Mickey announced,

Mickey from rock to rock again till she reached whatever had been firing at them,

She looked about and checked the thing covered in sand rags,

Ben heard Mickey speaking though the ear phones in the helmet,

He nodded and moved just short of where she was, he aimed around and scanned the area,

“what we have here is a rogue android, Capoot android now, for sure there is more out there, been bugging me for some time, on and off, let’s keep moving, got some open ground to cross, the cave are just beyond those sand hills” Mickey announced pointing to them,

You move I cover, I move you cover mate” Ben exclaimed,

Mickey moved off, she went quite a distance then Ben was comfortable about before she took cover,

“too far amigo” Ben said into his helmet mike,

Ben got up to move,

Mickey covered,

The sand spat up around his feet and he felt a thump to his shoulder, he stumbled and fell to the ground, Mickey fired around the area sporadically,

Ben pulled himself behind a rock, he aimed his weapon around, there was nothing,

Mickey went to move to him, the sand around her feet spat up and she got hit by something,

Mickey swung around and fired,

Ben saw what was happening and fired at potential firing positions, nothing showed on his scanner, “you ok mate” Ben asked through his helmet microphone?

There was no reply,

Mickey got to her feet, she moved towards where Ben was, again the sand flew up and Mickey took hits from something, she toppled forward and led on the sand,

Ben called out! He got to his feet and fired around the area,

He started to limp his way to where Mickey was led,

An explosion went off, Mickey was thrown into the air, Ben took cover, he saw her armoured body parts scattered around the sand,

Ben fired ferociously all over the shop,

He shouted out her name, “Mickey”!

Ben pulled himself up and walked towards her, Ben felt a thump on his chest and more to his legs, his visor cracked and cracked some more, Ben fell to the ground, he gasped for air,

Ben tried his best to crawl to where Mickey was, he couldn’t breath, he reached out his arm and called out, “Mickey”!

He stared at where she was and closed his eyes.

“good morning sir, the test results reveal great news, the cancer has gone, you are clear” Ben heard someone say,

“ben opened his eyes, he had to blink a few times to focus,

“good news sir don’t you think” a metallic voice announced,

Ben stared at a robot looking thing standing next to him, Ben looked around,

“we have to do some more checks later today, nothing too drastic, you rest now sir, you need to” the robot announced and walked away,

Ben looked around, he couldn’t move his arms or legs, they were strapped down,

“Mickey” he called out!

He shouted out again!

The door opened to the room he was in,

“please sir, all this shouting is not good for your blood pressure, you need to relax, sleep, your body has been through a lot, too long frozen in stasis, you will be ok, but you must rest and let us take care of you” the robot announced as it checked a computer screen on the wall,

“please tell me something, my minder, caretaker robot, humanoid protection, her name is Mickey, is she here with me” Ben asked?

“I don’t know any caretaker robot, humanoids were stopped too long ago, unreliable, many mistakes made by them back then, your recovery is so important to us sir, we want to know what you know and understand” the robot exclaimed,

Ben looked around the room he was in,

The robot talked and talked on, Ben led there on the bed, he wasn’t listening, just thinking about Mickey and what he had been through and now this, he thought he was dreaming,

Ben sat up,

“ok pall, you want what I know, I see it all again, been here before, one question, just one, how long have I been asleep for, cut the long talk, I just want to know, what happened” Ben growled!

The robot came closer, it put its hand onto Ben’s

“Sir, ok I will tell you before you get too stressed, you have been asleep for a long long time, something went wrong”.