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guardsTell them to get to the armory and arm themselves as fast as they canThen
send a squad of them to secure the spaceport, and get the rest over here to guard
the living quar-ters."
"I know how to do my job, Hosato," she snapped"Then do it!"
He reached for his room telephone and dialed hast-ily"JamesGet over here to my
room, fastDon't ask questions, just do it. That's right, and if you see any strange
robots, avoid 'em like the plagueRobots-it looks like your dad's security robot
scheme has backfiredJust get over here fast!" He slammed down the
phone"SuziLet's see those layout diagrams again!"
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The robot pivoted, and once more the viewscreen blinked to life.
Hosato studied the drawings"What's this?" he asked, pointing to an unlabeled
outline, forgetting for a moment Suzi's limited powers of observation.
"That's the Maintenance Building," the redhead commented, peering over his
shoulder"Hey, that's a pretty neat robotWho manufactures it?"
Hosato ignored her"What's the story on the life-support systems, Suzi?" he asked.
"Life-support systems for the living quarters and mall are self-contained and
independent of the main computer controlThey are located at this point." An area
of the layout diagram began to Sash.
"Bad news, Hosato," Sasha interrupted"The ro-bots have the spaceport."
"Could someone tell me what's going on?" the red-head whined.
"What about the armory?"
"The robots have that, too," Sasha informed him"My team managed to get some
of the blasters out before the robots closed in, but not manyI've told them to pull
back to the mall here to concentrate our forces."
There was a knock on the door.
"Stand back," Hosato hissed, motioning them away from the door.
With a fluid motion he rolled to the floor and lay, blaster ready, in front of the
door.
"Who is it?" he called.
"James Turner," came the muffled response.
"Come on in, James," Hosato called back, his blaster never wavering.
The door burst open and the boy hurried into the room.
"There's firing in the."
He stopped short, gaping at Hosato's blaster leveled at his midsection.
"Shut the door," Hosato ordered.
The boy groped behind him and closed the door, his eyes never leaving the
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blaster.
"Never mind Hosato," Sasha said briskly, stepping to his side"He's a bit jumpyWe
all areWhat were you saying about firing?"
The boy gulped"There's somebody's firing blasters in the main corridorThe one
leading to the rest of the complex."
Sasha swore absently"That means they're on the way," she growled at last"I'd
better get down there and organize the defense."
"Wait a minute, Sasha," Hosato said, rolling to his feet"Is there any other way out
of the complexOne humans can use?"
"What?"
"Wake upWe can't hold them foreverThey're probably manufacturing more while
we're talkingWe may have to evacuate the complexNow, besides the spaceport,
how can we get people out of here?"
Sasha thought for a moment"I can't think of any-"
"How about the sand crawlers?" James interrupted"The maintenance crews use
them for gathering mal-functioning robotsThey let me ride along with them a
couple of times."
"How big are they and how many are there?"
"They can hold six, maybe ten in a pinch," Sasha supplied"And there are only two
of them."
Hosato grimaced"It's not much, but it's all we've gotJames, you and.What is your
name, anyway?"
"Since you asked so nicely, it's Carolyn," the red-head retorted.
"Okay, you and Carolyn start going through the liv-ing quartersTell everybody to
move down to the Maintenance BuildingDon't take time to try to ex-plain why,
just tell them to do it and keep movingSasha will be organizing the corridor
defense, and Suri and I will go ahead to check the status on the sand
crawlers.Does that sound all right, Sasha?"
The last was added as he remembered his mannersHe was starting to take
command again.
"Sounds good to me," she replied, unruffled"Do you have any more blasters to
spare?"
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"Just one, and that's mine," Hosato apologized.
She made a face at him"Some spyWell, let's go."
"Spy?" asked James, looking at Hosato.
"Later, JamesLike the lady says, let's go."
The mall was a madhouseCrowds of people were milling around in various stages
of confusion and panicDisembodied hands seemed to pluck at Hosato's sleeve as
he and Suzi traversed the corridorsVoices babbled questions and demands at
him, but he shrugged them off without breaking strideThe few who noticed he
was carrying a blaster hurried to catch up with him, only to find his smooth pace
deceptively fast.
Sasha had disappeared shortly after they left his room, but he assumed she was
following her own route through the chaosHe could not waste energy worrying
about herShe had her job and seemed competent enough to handle itHe had
hisHe had to make it to Maintenance, hopefully ahead of the crowds.
The narrow off-corridor to the Maintenance Build-ing was unoccupiedApparently
no one else had rec-ognized it as a possible avenue of escapeAfter the dimness of
the mall, Hosato found the silence unnerv-ing, and without realizing it, began
carrying his blaster at the ready position.
The metal door at the end of the corridor was closedA prickly, chilly sensation ran
along Hosato's spineHe hesitated, then made his decisionHe hadn't survived this
long by ignoring his warning instinctsMotioning Suzi back against the wall, he
bent and sealed his suitThen, gripping his blaster, he reached out and jerked the
door open.
The Maintenance Building was a wreckThree men who had been huddled over
something on the floor sprang apart and desperately dived for cover behind
workbenches and boxesAs they scattered, Hosato saw they had been at work
dismantling a security robotBeyond it, several bodies lay on the floor.
"Who's there?" a shaky voice called out, and Hosato heard the quick scrabble as
the man changed positions after speaking.
Stepping back into the corridor, out of their line of vision, Hosato broke the seals
and rearranged his Ninja suit as he replied"Hayama," he called"I've got my robot
with me, but she's stable and functioning normally."
"Come on ahead, Hayama," came a new voice Hosato recognized as Rick
Handel's"It's all right, you guysI know him."
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By the time Hosato reentered the room, two of the men had resumed their work [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]