Galactic Battle (14 page)

“How are we going to follow this?” Kritta whispered, her insect eyes appearing even bigger than usual.

“Let's worry about that when it's our turn!” John said.

The acrobats began to break away from the galaxy formation, flying out in a starburst of colors. Eventually, only Emmie and Mordant were left, spinning faster and faster.

John held his breath. This could be the moment! It would be so easy for Mordant to let go of her now. And if he did, Emmie would fly straight out of the ZeBub, and over the heads of the crowd, in full gravity.

But to his relief, Mordant didn't drop her. Instead, they began to rise together, then broke away and fired their jet-belts at once, gracefully completing a full rotation and touching down on the stage feetfirst.

The other acrobats steadily landed behind them, like starfighters coming back to base. The crowd applauded wildly. John joined in, primarily out of relief that Emmie was okay.

Immediately afterward, the Traditional Music team headed up to replace the Zero-G Acrobatics team, who had begun walking back into the backstage area looking exhausted but triumphant.

Mordant smirked at John, as if to say, “Follow that!” but his expression changed to one of horror when he caught sight of the Defendroids at the back of the room.

“What's the matter?” John yelled. “Surprised to see them working?”

“How did —” Mordant started to say, then stopped himself.

Behind him, Emmie looked puzzled. “Mordant? What's wrong?”

“Stay out of this!” Mordant snapped.

He beckoned over G-Vez and angrily whispered something.

John couldn't hear what Mordant was saying, but from the furious look in his yellow eyes, it was obvious that G-Vez was getting a vicious talking-to.

“I'm sorry, young master,” said G-Vez, bobbing apologetically. “I followed your instructions exactly. I deactivated the Def—”

“Get lost, or I'll throw you in the Junkyard!” interrupted Mordant. Then he turned to Emmie and grabbed her arm. “Come on,” he growled. “Let's go watch the other acts.”

“I've got a lot to think about right now,” she shot back, yanking her arm out of Mordant's grip. “Alone!”

And with that, she ran from the room, vanishing up the back stairs.

Mordant stood, fuming, then rejoined his team and their celebrations.

What should I do now?
John wondered. There was no way he could chase after Emmie — he needed to be here with his team — although he badly wanted to talk to her. Had it finally clicked for her? Did she realize that Mordant had used G-Vez to sabotage the Defendroids?

As John waited for his team's turn, he continued to watch the Spectacular. The Traditional Music team was still on stage, and it turned out to be a Callifraxian orchestral suite. Students drummed on opal-colored shells and blew trombone-like notes from labyrinthine glass pipes. On any other day, it might have been soothing to listen to, but John was far too tense to enjoy it today.

He bit his fingernails throughout the Plasma Sculpting and Star Dance displays. He barely noticed the performing Kvellian Razorbeasts, Brainsquids, and Braxian Firehounds in the Alien Life Form Training act. And all through Live Holo-Theater, he could think of nothing but his own upcoming performance.

Finally, Lorem called out, “For our last act today, it is my great pleasure to present the Galactic Battle team!”

Together, the team strode onto the blazing stage. The audience began to clap and then gasped as soon as they saw the immense Defendroids stomp onstage behind them.

“Please don't be alarmed,” Lorem said. “Although they seem menacing, the Defendroids are perfectly safe.”

The Defendroids moved to form a line at one end of the stage. John and the others formed a line at the other. He checked that his Hot Shot was fully loaded.

We can do this,
he thought.
After everything we've been through, everything we've learned, I know we can defeat these things.

John's teammates stood by his side, their weapons at the ready. They looked cool, confident, and braced to attack.

“Attack will begin in five,” boomed an automated voice, “four, three . . .”

“Okay, guys,” John whispered. “This is it. Good luck!”

“Two, one. Activate.”

The Defendroids lumbered forward as one.

Kaal and Monix ignited their LaserPros and ran forward, hacking and slicing at the robots. Whizzing SonicArrows flew across the stage, striking sparks off the robots where they hit. Dyfi scored an instant headshot on Dicer, causing the oncoming robot to stagger and fall to one metal knee.

John lined up his first shot and fired. It slammed into Steel Storm's chest. The robot's eyes blazed red, and it let out a rattling roar. Currents of raw electricity writhed over its upraised fist. Then the machine ran faster toward John.

That didn't happen in practice!
he thought.
They're supposed to retreat when we hit them, not fight back!

Quickly, John looked closer at the other Defendroids. They were acting the same. The more the team hit them, the more aggressive they seemed to get.

A sudden cold flash of realization dawned.
They're in full aggression mode!
John thought.

The Defendroids were advancing, and they weren't playing games.

“HYPERSPACE HIGH UNDER ATTACK!” they roared. “DESTROY ALL HOSTILES.”

“Uh oh, guys,” said Kaal. “I think my repairs might have overridden the training mode setting.”

“I don't want to be destroyed!” Dyfi wailed, just as Crusher was bearing down on her, its huge feet threatening to squash her like a cockroach.

Monix slashed hard with her LaserPro, knocking one of Crusher's legs out from under it.

As Crusher tottered, Dyfi took aim with her Hot Shot and blasted it in the chest. The robot clutched at the ground, struggling to get up.

The audience yelled encouragement, cheering and clapping.

“Go, Dyfi. Go!” squeaked a high-pitched voice from somewhere in the crowd — a voice similar to Dyfi's. It had to be someone from her family.

They think it's part of the act!
thought John.
We're about to get bashed to a pulp, and they're applauding!

Meanwhile, Kaal was in trouble. He'd run further across the stage than any of the others, and now he found himself facing Lasher, Slicer, and Steel Storm all at once. Holding his LaserPro in both hands, he frantically struck out around him, driving them back. His LaserPro was like a whirling bar of white-hot metal, striking sprays of sparks wherever it hit.

Slicer and Steel Storm fell back, but Lasher was whirling its arm faster and faster, creating a shield of spinning metal. Kaal tried to strike through it, but the Defendroid knocked Kaal's LaserPro clean out of his hands.

Lasher's wrecking-ball arm curled up like a scorpion sting, ready to strike. The audience gasped.

One blow, and Kaal's flying days would be over — and so would, perhaps, his life.

“Tarope! Kritta!” John yelled. “Help Kaal!”

Tarope and Kritta quickly exchanged glances and nodded. They each threw a SonicArrow. The silvery shafts struck home in Lasher's neck, jamming themselves deep into the machinery.

The Defendroid gave a wavering roar and clutched at the embedded weapons with its claw hand, trying to tug them free.

Kaal seized the opportunity to snatch up his LaserPro, then leaped over Lasher's head and glided back down on the other side.

“That was too close!” he said, gasping.

The Galactic Battle team was back together now, all gathered on the side of the stage where they'd started. But the Defendroids were rallying, too. Steel Storm grabbed the fallen Crusher's upper arm, and the sudden surge of electricity seemed to revive the fallen robot. It propped itself back on its feet.

End of round one,
John thought.
We're still alive — for now.

However, the audience was loving every moment. A fresh round of applause resounded around the Center.

Steel Storm swiveled its enormous head to the left and right. “MULTIPLE ADDITIONAL TARGETS DETECTED!” it boomed, its voice deeper than the rest. “POTENTIALLY HOSTILE. ALL DEFENDROIDS, MOVE TO TERMINATE THREATS.”

“Ooh, how exciting!” called out a green, shrub-like extraterrestrial in the front row. “How's that for a twist? The robots are going to attack us, too!”

“Help us, Galactic Battle team!” called a gooey creature behind her with a huge smirk, playing along. “Hurry! We're all in terrible danger.”

“You have no idea . . .” John said under his breath. “Um, Zepp, any time you want to step in — that's fine with me!”

“I am not authorized to override the Defendroids, John,” Zepp answered.

The Defendroids had begun moving purposefully now, heading for the edge of the stage. Within moments, they would be wading through the defenseless families in the audience. If Zepp wasn't going to put a stop to the battle, John had to do something — and fast!

He thought back to the ancient warfare simulations he'd played on his computer back at home. How had the Spartans beaten back the Persians? How had the Roman Empire conquered half the world? Formation, that's the key!

The Defendroids had begun swinging their weapon arms threateningly. They purposefully took one step forward and then another, as if they had all the time in the world. Their eyes glowed as fiercely as hot coals.

Some parents had begun stamping and chanting, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” Not one of them showed any sign of knowing the danger they were in.

In his mind's eye, John saw the Battle of Gettysburg as his old school's history teacher had explained it. When the Confederacy charged on day three of the battle, the Union Army first attacked with cannon fire, followed by artillery fire from Cemetery Hill and Little Round Top, and then by musket and canister fire from Cemetery Ridge. The Union Army waited out their enemies and had them surrounded from all sides.

Time for some old-fashioned Earth tactics!
John thought.

“We need to go into defensive formation,” he said urgently. “Kaal, Monix, you guys in front! Keep the robots at bay!”

The two LaserPro wielders bravely ran to stop the Defendroids in their tracks, holding up their weapons like an energized barrier. Good, swordsmen in position, John assured himself.

“Kritta and Tarope, you take the sides! Don't let anything circle around past us!”

“Right!” Tarope yelled. They ran to join Kaal and Monix.

Spearmen at the flanks,
John thought.
And now for the archers.

“Dyfi, get up on my shoulders! We'll fire over Kaal and Monix's heads, okay?”

Dyfi scrambled up John's back and straddled his shoulders. “Ready to rumble, leader!” she said firmly.

John ran and stood behind Kaal and Monix. At the sides, Kritta and Tarope had their SonicArrows ready. The formation was complete.

“Don't let any of them through,” John said. “Steady!”

Just then, the Defendroids broke into a run. Four came pounding straight toward Kaal and Monix. John saw that Kaal's LaserPro was trembling in his grasp.

The other two robots — Slicer and Dicer — broke away from the group and headed around the sides of the Galactic Battle formation, making straight for the front row of the audience.

Screams rang out — but they were screams of delight.

“They're coming to get us!” someone howled.

But Kritta and Tarope were in the right place to stop them. Kritta slammed a SonicArrow into Slicer's knee, sending the Defendroid crashing down. On the other side, Tarope's shot struck the already battered Dicer right on the front of its head, where Dyfi's shots had previously melted it. The SonicArrow pierced the metal and went in deep.

Dicer crackled all over with electricity, gave a low moan like a dinosaur falling into a tar pit, and crashed down, defeated.

Tarope gave a whoop of victory. “And Dicer is toast!”

“Don't celebrate yet,” John warned. “Still five more left!”

Kaal and Monix stood their ground, their LaserPros weaving a barrier of bright light. The Defendroids advanced, fell back, and advanced again. They seemed to sense that coming too close to the bright, slashing energy swords could be fatal.

But that made them easy targets for the Hot Shots. John let go round after round, peppering the Defendroids with white-hot spots the size of saucers. Their metal armor hissed and fizzled where the pellets struck.

Dyfi clung on tight to his shoulders —
ouch!
— and let loose a flurry of shots of her own. “We're not doing enough damage!” she yelled.

“Aim for their control panels!” John yelled back. “And change to rapid fire!”

“Now you're talking,” Dyfi said. She altered the setting on her Hot Shot, and she and John concentrated their fire on Steel Storm, who was looming above Kaal and Monix.