I've been toying with this backstory for some time, thought I'd get it down. As usual, your comments and opinions would be greatly appreciated.
--------------------------------
Tracey Hollander would never know who was responsible. If she had still been coherent, she would have run through the possibilities. The Hellions. The Outcasts. The Trolls. One of the gangs who plagued Baumton. Perhaps even the Fifth Column themselves, who felt that their legacy gave them the right to harass citizens on the streets.
But all these gangs were in hiding right now. They had run the moment the huge disc had appeared in the sky. The moment those silver and grey drones had started to appear through the portals that were appearing across the globe.
She was unable to contemplate any of this though. She was past caring now. The first explosion had caused a portion of the laboratory's roof to collapse on her. It had been quick, at least. Her lifeless eyes were no longer able to see through the dirt and dust which now covered her private research area.
Were no longer able to see her creation.
************************************************** ***********************************
Time passed. The invasion was ended by a brave team of heroes. Tracey's body faded to a skeleton. The equipment running on battery power slowly faded. A calm settled over the place, turning the lab into a tomb. Dust gathered over surfaces, rendering them unreadable.
In the centre of the lab, suspended upright between a metal lattice, was Professor Hollander's life work. The dust cared little for the pride she had once felt and gathered there, regardless. The green surface of her life work, with the delicate filigree of circuitry covering it became covered in dust, which soon overwhelmed even the the debris around the room.
Crack!
Stone moved against stone and sound could be heard in the lab for the first time in months. A scraping sound echoed around the room. A beam of light pierced the gloom, followed by a gutteral, wet growl.
"Here." the growl turned into a voice.
Through the hole that had been created, Keldar fell into the lab. He was swiftly followed by Jaynor.
"Switch light off." Keldar ordered Jaynor.
The green skinned troll flung the torch against the wall, ending the spillage of light. Keldar sighed. Jaynor was not the smartest troll on the block. Keldar pushed him back against the wall, both of them standing with the narrow opening between them.
"Quiet." Keldar hissed as Jaynor made to protest the move. "We not safe here."
The sound of footsteps filled the room. With the light gone, nothing could be seen. When the torchlight was switched on by their pursuers, it was nearly blinding.
A helmet poked through the hole, the light enhancing goggles blue in the darkness.
"Columnist!" Jaynor yelled and twisted the helmet. A wet crunching noise and a sickly splatter of blood was all it took to end the life of the Fifth Columnist. It was also enough of a signal to alert the rest of the patrol to their location.
The remains of the trooper were pulled back, out of Jaynor's grasp. Keldar prepared himself for battle, but this was no meagre police force here. This was the Fifth Column and they knew their tactics.
Sensing, rather than seeing despite the beams of light coming from outside the hole, Keldar felt a lump of metal sail through the air past him. It bounced off the form in the centre of the room and rolled to a stop, with an ominous thud.
Keldar knew it was a grenade. He also knew that these Columnist wanted him alive for some reason. Smart as he was for a troll, he could not begin to comprehend their actions. But he did know what was about to happen.
The grenade exploded in a green light, tinged with red. Keldar felt the impact. The air turned to treacle around him as his movements slowed. His immune system took a hit and he knew that the troopers would now run in and capture both him and Jaynor, their futile efforts to fight back clumsy and stupid looking to the unharmed Columnists.
He saw the troopers dive in through the hole and reached out to strike them. The troopers sidestepped his clumsy strike and one raised a taser to his chest, just short of contact. At the same time, the other troopers grabbed Jaynor, whilst the one holding the taser smoothly pulled out a pistol and, without looking, discharged it into Jaynor's head. The younger troll slumped and was dropped to the ground by his restrainers.
"Please desist your futile attempts at escape." the head Fifth Columnist instructed him. "I have no wish to harm you."
Anger welled up in Keldar's throat and he roared at the Columist. It emerged as a squeak, as the radiation coursed through his body.
"You will thank me for this later." Keldar was told. The taser connected with his chest, the electrical sparks coursing through his body. The roar was more apparent this time.
"Defence circuits activated." a mellow robotic voice said.
In the centre of the room, the dark shape moved, tearing the latticework away from its form. The Fifth Columnist's turned as Keldar fell to the floor, almost unconscious.
"You have inflitrated a private facility. Stand down." the shape took a step down from the platform. The Columnists could see it through their visors. Even stepping down, it towered over them. It was at least eight foot tall and heavy built. It looked humanoid, except for the legs which were obviously robotic. Grey circuitry ran over the green outer shell.
It's face contained a visor that looked like human eyes. There was a dull green glow within that visor. Below that, a metal construct which had small speakers built into the side. It was there that the melodic male voice was coming from.
"Destroy that." the Fifth Column commander said dismissively.
The troopers raised their rifles. The robot shifted his stance and looked down at the immobile troll.
"Estimated power reserves low. Source of power located."
As the Fifth Columnists opened fire, the robot held out his hand. The radioactive energy from the downed troll flew through the air in a cloudy haze into the robot.
"Truth-Bot power levels now at optimum capacity" he said. The bullets from the Columnists weapons made him take a step or two backwards. His eyes flashed a brighter shade of green and the grey circuitry lining his outer shell suddenly raced with a brilliant green light.
The Fifth Column commander realised that this was more than a standard security robot. He reached behind his shoulder for his shotgun. But Truth-Bot was already moving. Moving incredibly fast for a being his size.
Twin green lines emerged from his eyes, knocking one of the Columnist troops back against a wall. From his hands, a green bolt of energy emerged, sending another troops spiralling down.
He grabbed the remaining trooper and through him down against the floor, leaving just himself and the commander.
"Your surrender would be advisable." Truth-Bot told him.
"I would rather die than surrender." the commander told him, taking aim.
It was then that Keldar, now recovered from his radiation infection made his move. He launched himself up, forcing the shotgun to point towards the ceiling. A single shot ran out before Keldar snapped the commander's wrist.
"Stupid human." Keldar spat. "Make mess of you head now."
"Wait." Truth-Bot said. "There is no need for further action."
The commander looked distraught.
"Sir." he whispered. "I am here to retrieve you. We need to know about..."
Keldar flung him against the edge of the whole, his back snapping as he twisted about it.
Truth-Bot moved forward, activating his healing ability. Unfortunately, the commander was past help.
"Keldar....." he whispered as his life faded. "Recall junction command...... Epsilon."
"Junction?" Keldar said. "But not ready..... too early......"
Keldar fell to his knees as Truth-Bot watched. He let out a strangled cry and moaned. A crackling noise seemed to cover his skin. Truth-Bot had no idea what was happening. He checked the commander's body, but his scan told him that it was too late there.
For Keldar though, it was just beginning. His screams sounded to Truth-Bot's programming like the birth of something. There was a frantic tearing sound and the green skin suddenly fused white. Keldar's shaking subsided and where the troll had once been, there was only a man.
"Help me." Keldar sounded frightened. "Must stop them."
Truth-Bot increased Keldar's metabolic rate with some radiation, bringing his body back to an optimum condition.
"Stop whom?" the robot asked.
"The Fifth Column is dying." Keldar said, clarity flooding into his blue eyes. "The Council is rising."
"Who is the Council?"
"I....." Keldar paused, straining. "I don't.... I don't know."
Clearly, this was a great strain on Keldar. Truth-Bot stood up and looked around the lab. Now undistracted by people around him, he easily spotted the skeleton.
Professor Hollander he realised.
At that, a subroutine activated a hidden file. Within Truth-Bot's vision, a video clip popped up, showing Professor Hollander in the lab before the accident. She stood in front of Truth-Bot in the clip, with the robot still unpowered.
"Hey Truth-Bot." she said. "I'm hoping you never see this video, but we live in a dangerous world here. This place isn't safe and there are those that would stop at nothing to see me dead."
On the screen, she seemed to steel herself to go on.
"You are the Terrain Reclamation Unit by Tracey Hollander. Or Truth-Bot as I've called you. You are designed for urban pacification. I've seen a great number of people killed over the years and it's through you that I want to try to stop that happening in the future."
She coughed, as if embarassed.
"Now I'm proud of my town. It's full of bad people, but it's also full of good ones. You are here to stop the bad ones and help the good. Help them, Truth-Bot. Your AI software can make its own decisions and reach its own conclusions. The good people of this town need help. I hope you come to that decision too."
"Farewell, Truth-Bot. Be a great hero." she said, and the image faded.
He absorbed this information and looked down at Keldar. Keldar needed help. Whatever Keldar was, Truth-Bot needed to find out. He needed to help this "Fifth Column" and prevent the "Council" from taking over. All of this passed through his processors in a second.
"I will help you." Truth-Bot told Keldar. "We will stop the Council from rising."
Keldar looked up at him, a strange expression on his face.
"You're a hero." Keldar said. "Why would you help me?"
"Because I am a hero." Truth-Bot replied directly.
Truth-Bot scooped Keldar up and carried him out of the hole. He did not see the triumphant expression on Keldar's face.
To be continued...
).
