HAWK

CHAPTER ELEVEN: SPIDER (1/6)

'Hik...?' Kas said, but the X1's face was a void of perfect darkness.

'What is the problem?' the spider asked. Kas looked over her shoulder and saw the alien X1 gliding towards her. Its four pals were tightening their formation behind it.

'Nothing,' Kas replied. 'He's all yours.' She pushed herself away from Hik and drifted sideways towards the wall. The spider continued on its eerie path towards Hik, coming to a smooth stop only a couple of feet in front of him.

'Illegal X1,' it said. 'Identify yourself.'

But Hik did not respond; it was like he'd just turned himself off.

'What have you done to it?' the spider asked. Kas assumed it was talking to her. She wasn't sure if these alien X1's were familiar enough with human voice patterns to detect lies, but she decided she'd be safer sticking to the truth if at all possible.

'I told him he's to go with you. He's no longer in my possession.'

'Illegal X1,' the spider said. 'You are ordered by the United Galactic Federation to come with us immediately. Do you understand?'

Silence. Kas glanced at the door and saw the other four spiders filtering slowly into the hold.

'Illegal X1,' the chief spider continued. 'If you do not acknowledge your instruction, you will be treated as hostile.'

More silence, during which Kas wondered if she might've just made a terrible mistake. The cluster of spiders surrounded Hik and formed a pentagon around him.

C'mon, Hik, do something...

A glimmer of blue text flutter across his dome and answered her prayer.

Hang on... blue...?

The next thing Kas knew, the five spiders each fired some kind of magnetic harpoon at Hik out of their abdomens, trapping him in the centre of a web of thin black cords.

'Illegal X1,' the spider resumed. 'This is your last warning. If you do not respond, you will leave us no choice but to--'

'Wait...' Hik's face was awash with blue text. His body jerked and came alive, though his movement was restricted by the black web. 'Where am I?'

'You are in the possession of the Federation,' the spider replied. 'Identify yourself.'

'How did I get here?'

'You are ordered to identify yourself.'

'Please just tell me how I--'

The five black cords suddenly turned orange. Kas watched on startled as Hik started to spasm and shake.

X1's can't feel pain... can they...?

'S-stop...' he said, and the cords promptly returned to black.

'You are confined within a sensory imitation net,' the spider explained. 'That was the lowest pain frequency we are able to simulate. Refusal to cooperate will incur increased levels of stimulus. Identify yourself.'

Hik shuddered. 'My name is H1K-363.'

'Who is your master?'

When Hik didn't reply straight away, the cords turned orange once again, though this time they were a little brighter. Hik started to shake even worse than before.

'S-s-stop...' he pleaded, but they didn't. Kas watched on in horror as the spiders continued to torture Hik for another thirty seconds before finally stopping.

'That was the second lowest frequency,' the spider said. 'Each increment doubles in intensity. There are eight frequencies in total, though we have never needed more than four. Who is your master?'

Hik was still twitching from the attack. His words came out like a glitchy recording. 'The o-o-one who owns me... is Sae-q-q-quin Lor.'

Kas held in a gasp. Hik's admission made perfect sense: the Chains acquired Hik four months before - around the same time Sae-quin Lor was believed to have died.

The green code in each of the spiders' faces began scrolling by very quickly.

'How did he come to own you?' the spider asked.

'H-h-he purchased me on the black market,' Hik replied.

'For what purpose?'

'To s-store his research.'

'What research, specifically?'

'I am unable t-t-to--'

The webs turned orange. A terrible distorted scream filled the hold and stabbed at Kas's ears. She screamed back.

'STOP IT!'

To her surprise, the attack stopped and Hik returned to trembling in silence. The chief spider swivelled to look at her, though its cord was still securely attached to Hik.

'How did you retrieve this X1?' it asked her.

'I took it from a group of criminals called the Black Chains.'

Hik looked at Kas for the first time since his awakening. 'Zzz the B-B-Black Chains? Why d-did they have m-me?'

'They must've stolen you after they killed Lor.'

The blue code in Hik's face slowed. 'They... k-k-killed him?'

'Stop talking,' the spider interrupted. 'You will both be taken to holding rooms where you will be interviewed separately.'

'What do you mean, both of us?' Kas asked.

'You have been found to be in possession of an X1. You must be questioned.'

'Then I assume we'll be heading to Lysan.'

'We can find out what we need to know from here.'

'I studied at the Lysan Academy; I know the law. If you want to question me, you are required to take me to either Selva or Lysan where I am entitled to legal represen--'

'You will be questioned here.'

Kas felt weak. She'd normally have argued further, but these weren't police. They weren't even organic beings. They were X1's - five of them. If they said they were questioning her there, then that's exactly what they'd do.

'That's illegal,' Hik replied for her. His shaking had stopped and he was now standing tall as if unphased by the five enemies surrounding him.

'The Federation decides what is legal,' the spider said.

'And w-what will you do with me once you've f-finished questioning me?'

'Standard procedure for rogue units is annihilation.'

'I see. In that case, I need to m-make you aware that my master made other changes to me b-besides my personality.'

'What changes?'

Hik's visor filled with blue code as his body instantly began to change. He lost several inches in height as his body tightened and became somewhat stouter. It was as though he had shrunk inside himself like a turtle retreating inside its shell. Kas knew the spiders wouldn't like that, and sure enough, the five cords immediately turned bright orange.

But this time, Hik did not shake. He stood strong and resilient, suddenly immune to the spiders' attack. The webs started to glow even brighter as the spiders increased the intensity, but to no effect. Hik's arms lifted as he grabbed at the cords attached to him. He pulled them around to his front, gathering all five of the X1's together like a cluster of black balloons. The webs were so bright now that it almost hurt Kas to look at them. With a sharp tug, Hik plucked them from his body. The cords turned black, and the next thing Kas knew, a blinding burst of blue light erupted from the centre of the room.