HAWK

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: AWAKENING (4/5)

Kas and Rhaspa soon arrived at the glass doors and exited into the tunnel where Mack was waiting for them.

'That was quick,' he said.

'No point in delaying things,' Rhaspa replied. 'Is everything prepared?'

'They're just waiting for us.'

'Then lead the way.'

Mack took Rhaspa's free arm and guided him along the corridor, nodding at Kas to follow. She trailed behind them as they headed back to the junk room.

Worm was still working tirelessly, her face still obscured by the welding mask as she made adjustments to the robot's left elbow, sending out a loud shower of sparks. Mack had to shout at her to be heard.

'Hey, kid!'

Worm turned her head to Mack and stopped welding. She lifted the mask and screwed up her face inquisitively.

'Come with us,' Mack said. 'You need to see this too.'

Worm signed something that could only have been frustration.

'You can go back to work soon, this won't take long. Come on.'

Worm huffed as she pulled off her mask. She dropped it next to the robot's feet and stomped over to join the group.

The gang of four progressed quickly back up the spiral ramp and through the tunnels. They soon arrived outside a round security door with two blue wallpads on either side of it. Mack and Rhaspa stood in front of a pad each and pressed their palms against them. The pads turned green and the security door split open.

The square room was bright and immaculate. There were no bare rock walls like the rest of the base but slick lambentile panels. Sudds, Pari and Beak were already inside waiting for them, all gathered around a large silver metallic box. It was eight-feet long, four wide and four deep, like an industrial refrigerator that had fallen on its back. The security door closed as the four new arrivals stepped inside.

'Is everybody here?' Rhaspa asked.

'We're all here,' Sudds replied. 'Though I still think this is a mistake. We can't trust her.'

'I've made my decision. She already knows too much as it is. This is the only way of convincing her.'

'Get the guns,' Mack ordered. Sudds, Pari and Beak went to the far end of the room where a table was set up with three identical rifles. They each picked one up.

'What's going on here?' Kas asked as she stepped in front of Worm.

'Don't worry, they're not for you,' Mack said.

Kas watched as the three soldiers powered the weapons up, igniting strips of blue light along their edges. She didn't recognise the models but they looked like they meant business. The soldiers spread out across the room and aimed their rifles at the large silver box.

'Ready,' Sudds said.

Mack approached the box and touched a finger to the lid. Kas saw a small keyboard display light up. He started typing in commands.

'Tell me, Kas...' Rhaspa said, 'what is your opinion of the Federation?'

'The Federation? What do you mean?'

'Do you trust them?'

'I don't know. Yes, mostly. I might not agree with everything they do, but the truth is we need them.'

'Do we? Humanity has managed perfectly well for thousands of years without them.'

'We're not living in the stone age anymore, man. Interstellar travel is here to stay. Without the Federation, space would be chaos. Just look at what's happened since Selva was destroyed.'