Terra-33 Ep. 08

"Hmm, looks like a boot sequence," Ida said. "I've checked the characters and they do not match any standard human alphabet. They do resemble some mathematical characters and some of them also resemble various letters, though not in any recognizable combination."

"There's a T," Trix pointed out helpfully.

"Do you think it is safe for me to remain here and attempt to interpret some of this?" Ida asked, her question obviously directed at Remi.

"There's a 6."

Remi snorted at Trix, "Yeah, it should be. We will explore some of these rooms in the immediate vicinity. Just keep your sensors active and scanning and don't get too distracted."

"I will," Ida assured them, turning back to the nearest display viewscreen.

"There's a Q."

Trix reached around and pointed, finally laughing when her hand was slapped away. Ida seemed to visibly relax at the other girl's attempt at humor. Trix gave Ida's ass a parting spank and followed after Remi, who had positioned himself alongside a door a little ways up the hall. It was a smaller version of the doors they'd used to access the hallway from the vehicle bay and Trix stepped up the handle. It was nearly aligned with her breasts, set much higher than she was used to. She gave it a quick twist and pull, nearly falling over when the door didn't budge.

"Try pushing," Remi suggested.

Trix glanced over, glad her mask covered her chagrin. The door flew open when she pushed her shoulder into it, her eyes searching along with the muzzle of her SMG. Remi was past her quickly, shotgun leading the way. The room reminded Trix of a penthouse suite, massive and Spartan, but well-appointed in a tasteful fashion. A lot of the furniture looked a bit different but it was recognizable as living quarters. The bed was another story. It was only six inches off the ground and appeared the sink into the floor. There were pillows and a sheet piled in the center, jumbled like the owner of the room didn't care about its appearance. Or maybe the housekeeping staff hadn't been around in a while, which would make sense with the lack of any people they had seen.

"What kind of bed is that?" Remi asked as he snapped on a light.

"I don't know, how'd you do that?"

"Little lever here, flick it down."

Trix walked to the side of the bed, using her left hand to do as Remi described on the oblong lamp there. The ovoid lit up in warm yellow-orange, somehow not glaring on the eyes, despite the lack of a lamp shade. They stepped up to the bed, each raising their visors. Trix could see that the mattress curved inward, making a little rounded nest in the center. Remi had bent down and was knifing through the sheets, fingering the material of the mattress.

"Some kind of poly-fiber stuffing, looks molded this way though, not worn in by use. What do you think of the sheets? Silk?"

Trix bent down and slid the smooth fabric through her armored fingers. "Yeah, pretty high thread count too from the look of it. Wonder what kind of sex you could have in something like this? Reminds me of a plastic ball pit from birthday parties as a kid."

"It would definitely be awkward," Remi agreed, pausing for a moment. "More and more I think Ida is right. There were never humans here. At least, not by choice. Nothing seems natural to me and this bed especially makes me wonder."

"Makes you wonder if we should take a break and look into some other forms of stuffing?" Trix winked down at him. It was nice to be able to see his eyes again.

Remi grinned and laughed, the little lines at the corners of his eyes making her want to rip the mask of his mouth. "I don't think we should put that on Ida. Imagine a bunch of heavily-armed aliens coming to put us in chains while we're naked and she's the only one combat ready."

"Imagine what we could do with some chains..."

His visor slipping down into place, Remi stood and put his left hand on her breast, giving a little squeeze that neither of them could feel. It was enough of a promise for later that Trix was satisfied, engaging her own headgear. They turned to the wall opposite the door and Trix pushed a button near the base. It split away suddenly, revealing a glorious scene of an exotic world. Purple-hued sky with a bright orange sun looked down on white grass that spread out from the screen as far as they could see. Weird, mushroom-like trees dotted the landscape and Trix noticed that the view was shifting. It was like they were in a slow-moving car, looking out over rolling plains.

"I wonder where it is?" Trix whispered.

"Somewhere else, somewhere the previous occupants of this place came from I bet."

"Let's get back to Ida," Trix said, suddenly fearful. She pressed the button which closed the window and trailed after Remi, leaving the room and its oddities behind.

"I think I've found something," Ida shouted. She was standing by the computer array, one display full of lines of code and another showing a more picture-oriented user interface, like a human GUI. Trix squinted at the images, unable to make out anything intelligible.

"It looks like they have a thirty-character alphabet, and a very similar numerical system. It is definitely base ten, and I think I've identified some of the operators here and — "

Ida was interrupted by the sound of a panel opening somewhere down the hallway.

"What was that?" Trix whined.

"Get ready," Remi hissed, swapping shotgun for rifle and dropping to one knee. He aimed the long, sleek weapon down the corridor, scanning for targets. A long ways in the distance, Trix saw overhead lights coming on, blinking steadily closer.

"Keep to the main hallway," Remi growled over his shoulder. "If you need cover, open a door, but do not get bogged down. There isn't enough mobility in those rooms, we'd just be trapped. If we need to retreat, we go straight back to the buggy and whoever gets there first gets on the MG."

"Maybe they just want to say hello," Ida suggested.

Trix didn't bother responding, from the tone of Ida's comment, even the construct didn't think that was the case. She peeked around Remi's shoulder and her HUD identified three unknown targets. The trio was moving very smoothly, almost as if they were floating instead of walking. The yellow circles pulsing around each were getting larger by the second.

"They're armed, and mechanical..."

Remi's HUD updated a moment before Trix's and as he spoke, she saw the pop-up on her own. The magnified image gave the impression of a ball with a box on top. It had three full arms, two upper arms with unidentified firearms and one lower without, and another half-sized arm that ended in an electronic node of some sort. The information being gathered by the HUD was incomplete but the initial scan suggested an automaton with heavy armor, no living tissue detected. Trix thought of the Golden Ratio again as she looked at the robots, whose design did not espouse that principle. Her initial impression was that they looked clunky, but their smooth ambulation put the lie to that.

"Hold your fire."

The robots had slowed down as they neared and were now about a hundred yards away. One paused and stuck its small arm into a socket in the wall while the others moved forward. The pair advanced, moving on the axis of the ball which acted like a unicycle. When they had cut half the distance, they both purred to a stop and one spoke.

"Skysit marassk ooolop," the computerized voice broke the tense silence.

"Did it just say Sky-zit mar-ass ewe-lap?" Trix asked.

"Something like that," Remi said quietly.

When they didn't respond to it, the robot extended its arms in a peaceful gesture and repeated the phrase. Remi stood, letting his own rifle swing across his chest and into a shoulder-ready carry. He raised his left arm in greeting and stepped forward.

"Hello."

"Hello?" the robot repeated, its enunciation perfect and a lilting question in its tone.

"What is this place?" Remi asked.

The third mechanical defender rejoined its fellows, coming to a stop then pressing ahead of both. "Hello, interested letting hallway alien watched golden."

"What?"

"What," the alien construct repeated, nodding its head sagely.

"I think they have been listening to our conversations," Ida whispered, her helmet mic amplifying the sound. "Trying to learn?"

"Do we keep trying to communicate?" Remi murmured.

"I will try," Ida stood and stepped beside Remi. Her rifle barrel hung parallel to her thigh and Trix inched up, the only one still crouching.

"Alien representatives, we come in peace," Ida said, sweeping her left arm wide. Trix stood as the robots nodded again. "What are your intentions?"

"Skysit marassk ot ypzil!"

As the lead robot uttered the command-like alien phrase, all three raised their upper arms and openly brandished weapons. Remi and Ida raised their rifles and Trix was right behind them, crouching again despite her sore knees.

"Guess we're done talking," Remi observed.

The robots repeated their phrase, this time in unison.

"Uh oh..." Trix said as the robots' guns lit with glowing green light.

***Author's note: This post and the following have been a long time coming, and thanks to a reader for reminding me to put them up! I plan to continue work on the series in the near future, after I complete some other projects. Thanks for reading!