Back inside the control cab, she knew it was coming before it hit, but it was too late to do anything. So far the bots like Rookie were doing a fine job of attacking the Baird, though Lindy had lost a few to the big guns mounted on the alien ship. But something changed. There was a small explosion down by the bloated weapon sack, which expanded like a puff of smoke, then shriveled to the size of a prune. Something had died down there, and something was mad. The hair stood on her neck and she could hear the crackling before it hit.

White hot pain and pretty little stars.

Boondock was next to her when the first surge of electricity hit her neural link. He scrambled like a cat in water, moving so fast, he seemed to float in midair. Except the control cab was a one person affair and he tore the interior to shreds in the process. For Lindy, things were different. Her brain was boiling in oil, teeth clenched, tongue half bitten off. She could hear tendons ripping from over flexed muscles until finally like the pulse of an electric fence, it stopped. She was coherent enough to see the bad robot army coming down in formation to engage her own army. What happened next was wiped from her memory by another surge of electricity.

This is the end, she thought when ten thousand volts brought on permanent brain damage.

"You have to do something," screamed Scott. Every jolt that hit her brought the memory of radiation burning his own flesh.

"Save her Rookie, no matter what it takes," ordered Bakes.

"It seems the war has come to an impasse," interrupted Sizy out of the blue. They all looked down to where the two robot armies had come face to face in a mutual standoff. "Their programming won't allow for genocide."

"First things first," said Rookie. For him it was a no-brainer. He had bonded with Bakes and his friends instantly. It hadn't taken years to gain their trust or become faithful companions. He was devoted to them from the second they met. That would never change. So his decision came naturally.

"Quit gawking at the bots and give me a hand, old lady," demanded Rookie. That got Sizy's attention. She was a lady but she wasn't old. "Stand back!" he punched his fist through the glass and flew down towards the cab. At the last second he swerved into the cable, slicing it in half with ease.

"Nooo," shouted Scott as the ball plummeted downward. But Sizy was there, slowing the fall until Rookie joined her and they brought Lindy down safely. Bakes grabbed Scott and shoved him through the hole. "Hope he's as good as I think he is. Aaiieee."

Rookie was able to meet them halfway and bring them down as well. They landed on the line of demarcation between the two massive armies, where you could have heard a pin drop except for Lindy moaning like the undead. Bakes and Scott tried to comfort her but there was nothing they could do. Bakes shivered when he saw her eyes roll up in her head, then she began convulsing.

"Look," said Scott. Max appeared among a forest of robot legs, carefully threading his way through the maze like each was a poison snake. He took his sweet time, picking one dainty leg up at a time to carefully step over a robot foot here, or avoid a sword there. They could hear the fighting above them, as Harkentofor and the good ship XARC continued their battle. But down here it was a different world. Until Max stopped next to the leader and growled.

"Grrrr, Grrrr."

"No Max," said Scott in a whisper, but the dog didn't mind. Instead he began tearing at the leader's leg, shaking his head violently back and forth. It was a deep, guttural sound which shook the air around them. Suddenly the impasse was broken and the bad ones began shooting at Lindy, Scott, and Bakes. Now it was outright warfare. There was no need to tell them what to do anymore. They defended their companions first and each other second. The problem was, they were in an open area, with no cover or strategy. Bakes used his neural network to relay the orders, picking up where Lindy and Purline had left off, even while devising a new plan.

"Fall back to the outer structure," Bakes ordered. "Maybe that scouting we did earlier will work to our advantage." It was slow going until they finally reached a door. Bakes realized there were too many robots to fit inside the maze of corridors and access shafts, so he went to a window and surveyed the carnage. "We have to split up and leave most of our bots to defend this position." For every one inside, there were still a hundred out there getting hammered. "Rookie," Bakes whispered with desperation, "Take the rest of them and try a different tactic."

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