Ghost in the Machine

Breach

"You did what?" Greer glared at his son, fork halfway to his mouth.

"It was no big deal, Dad." Kai glanced at the android sitting with them. "Tell him."

Her bright blue eyes turned to Rhaner.

"He was not acting out of character with a human boy his age. Puberty-"

"Hey!" The embarrassed youth leapt to his feet, slapping the table top. "Don't talk about my- I mean, about me, like that!"

The Echo turned her attention back to the teenager, expression placid.

"If I have offended you, I am in the wrong. It was not my intention."

Slightly placated, Kai sat down again but jumped at seeing the dark look on his father's face. Greer pointed his fork at the adolescent.

"No more. Ever."

"Alright alright, sheesh. It's not like I propositioned it. It's a robot."

"Kai," his voice sounding tired, Greer regarded his son seriously. "I raised you better than that. So did your mom."

"Low blow, Dad."

They stared at one another for a long moment before the younger Rhaner turned back to his plate, picking at the food. Uncomfortable silence fell between them. The android broke the tension, her luminescent eyes on the father.

"How large is your home, Greer?"

"Well," he swallowed, then gestured with the fork. "The three bedrooms upstairs, the bathroom, then down here, so-"

"Forgive me, but I meant to inquire of everything, outside as well. Or do you not have possession of the earth this dwelling sits upon?"

"The land? No, I own it. Two acres. We sit square in the middle."

"Then," she rose gracefully, looking down at him. "I should inform you that there will soon be visitors at the door. They breached the perimeter of your property not using the road and are approaching the house with upmost speed and stealth. They are heavily armed."

"Tuhānū mazāka hōṇā cāhīdā hai (you gotta be kidding me)!" Lunging to his feet, Greer ran to the window, peering out without moving the curtain. "I don't see anything! How do you know?"

"I am equipped with high intensity sensors that can detect the smallest of activity-"

"Cool!" It burst from Kai even as a sudden spatter of gunfire tore through the walls and window. The Echo Class robot moved a fraction of a second before the bullets breached the house, tackling Kai to the floor, kicking the table over to form a protective barrier. Made of thin wood, it would not last long, splinters ripping through, showering them.

"You need to leave this place," she told him, as though discussing the weather. "They mean to destroy you."

"Mainū? (me)" Terror was in the boy's eyes. "Maiṁ hī ki'ōṁ (why me)?"

"She means all of us!" Greer was there, pulling his son from the floor, dragging him toward the kitchen. "Cellar, now!"

"Dad, we can't get out that way!"

"Isa nū karō! (just do it)"

The steady fire of machine guns became a drumming thunder in their ears, turning the home they'd lived in into shambles. Not waiting to see if the robot was following, Greer shoved his son down the dark stairs in the cellar, leaping into the dim space after him.

"This way,"

"Where are we going?"

"Quiet," gently he put a hand over the boy's mouth. "We're sneaking out, right beneath them. If they hear us, this will turn into a grave in seconds."

"Dad?"

"Hold steady, son. Ṭhīka (yeah)?"

"Ṭhīka hai. (yeah),"

Keeping a tight grip on his hand, Greer took the lead, half bent, winding through the dark, dug out tunnel that led from his house out behind the storage barn and into the woods beyond. It had been his wife's idea, in case there was ever violent civil unrest or marauders who occasionally raided homes. He silently blessed her foresight now. In the pitch black, they came to the end of the tunnel, earth against his outstretched fingers.

"What now,"

"Don't move, I'll find the hatch."

Feeling his way around, Greer smiled when he grabbed the chain pully that lifted the hatch above them. Slowly, cautiously, he peered out. Back where they'd come from he could see the agents had reached the house, and were encircling it to go inside. There was almost no time left to run, for once the house was discovered empty, they would come searching.

"Alright, you first," Popping back down, Rhaner reaching for his son. "Up and into the woods, quietly. Just wait for me, but stay low and out of sight."

It only took a moment to get free of the tunnel, then they were in the dark shelter of the thick trees. Greer started to lead them away, but Kai jerked to an abrupt halt.

"Wait, where's the android?"

Greer's gaze went back to the house.

"We can't wait for her, son."

"You're just going to leave it?"

"My only concern is you." Nudging his son out in front they started off, hearing the faint bark of gunfire behind them.

***

The android stood quietly in the kitchen, tracking Greer and his son's escape. Although she'd not been specifically instructed to accompany them, she was aware that she could have. However, her basic programming was simple. Protect the Owner. In order to do that, she must remain here, ensuring that no danger followed after them.

Bright strobes of light cut through the house, whose shredded power lines had thrown the structure into darkness. Footsteps and radioed voices let her easily track the intruders as they went through the house, looking. They came closer and closer to the kitchen, but she made no move to either hide or attack. It seemed as if she were waiting. Then the door swung sharply inward, a red laser light sweeping the room before jerking to a halt on her chest.

"Female occupant!" the soldier shouted. "Don't move."

Her head tilted very slightly to one side as the soldier was joined by others, each with their own laser scope.

"On the floor, now!" one ordered. Her eyes found him.

"You are trespassing," she told them quietly. "Please vacate the premises immediately."

"What?" They glanced at one another, then stared back at her, raising their guns higher. "Get on the floor, now, or you will be shot!"

She moved too fast for them to realize what was happening. Suddenly across the room, she grabbed the middle soldier by his vest, lifting him completely off the ground then hurling him across the room. Before his companions could react, she'd seized their helmets, smashing their heads together. By that time others had come, and bullets ripping through the room along with shouts of 'Android!' Moving like lightning, she struck them before they could react, going through their ranks like a boulder through ants. When the gunfire settled down, she stood alone in the center of the living room, looking at the scattered bodies of the Reaper soldiers.

"It is regrettable you did not heed my warning." She said quietly, unmoved.

'It's regrettable you didn't make sure you had us all down."

At the voice she spun around, seeing a man standing behind her with a raised handgun. Her arm shot up and out, palm forward. The gun went off as a bright flash of blue light illuminated the space. Utter silence filled the dark room. Moving through the bodies, the Echo Class stepped over and around them until she reached the man at the doorway, his lifeless eyes staring upward. She looked at his slack features for a while before picking something from his pocket, stepping over him and closing the front door behind her.

A low, crackling groan came from the house as she walked away, the framework sagging, then sliding forward before the walls caved in, burying everything inside under seven feet of rubble. She never looked back.