From Beyond the Blue Planet Read online

  The sergeant hesitated. He had come to the same conclusion … some prank by a Caltech geek, he thought. He couldn’t just put a slug into it; might be worth considerable bucks. He had one more go …

  “This is your last chance to come out. An’ when you do, keep your hands where I can see’em … and make’em empty.” He paused as nothing seemed to be happening in response. “Okay, wise guy. We bring in the tow truck and it’ll cost you some bucks and a ticket.”

  Keelotron had absorbed all this and cross-matched it to known data that had been loaded into its vast memory banks. It could certainly have fought its way out of this situation, destroying a $30k cruiser in the process. Now, its rounded top shimmered and the sergeant wiped a sleeve across his suddenly sweaty forehead. His junior even staggered. “Come on,” he grumbled. “ ‘Taint worth botherin’ about. Let’s ride.” Before the two officers were back inside their SUV, Keelotron had swerved around them and was back up to 50mph.

  Back in the cruiser the sergeant muttered, “I don’t feel too good. Must be the heat. Report in 10-98.”

  “What if’n they wanna know more?” slurred the junior.

  “Oh … I dunno. Try an 11-29. Come on, kid. Let’s roll. I need some air.”

  ………. Things seemed to drift along in slow motion in the Hellman household. Seth looked at other items in his box of mementoes but thought only of Kevin. He sat on the bed some of the time. Occasionally he looked out of the window but didn’t really see the few people or cars that passed by.

  Dave Flack talked to spotters; listened to their opinions; occasionally looked at pictures of the hacienda relayed to this laptop; sketched a plan of the building where Kevin was being held; talked to the general who was trying to flesh out his ambush plan; just sat and thought dreamily … he somehow felt he was letting down the Hellman’s – all three of them.

  Ginny, incredibly, managed to stay dry-eyed but her thoughts were never away from her son and the terrible plight he was in. As if he hadn’t had enough to contend with in his life with his leg and the recent bullying. As though in a trance she prepared some food, tidied and cleaned, looked helplessly out of the window and prayed for a miracle. At one point a police cruiser pulled up at the end of the drive and she rushed to the door but it was only Lewis McMorris again to ask if they’d heard anything and to say that he hadn’t. Before turning away – for Ginny obviously wasn’t very welcoming – for something to say he gave her a tired grin and said …

  “Have to get moving again. Sometimes we get weird call-outs. One of our crews on the 210 were directed to a bin-like thing travelling south … I tell you, a bin! …”

  “Sure,” said Ginny. She just wanted him gone. A few minutes later Seth came down to comfort her and get a coffee. “I saw the cruiser out front. Lewis I presume. Anything from him?”

  Ginny snorted a humourless laugh. “Just some rubbish about a bin travelling south on 210. One of the patrols was called to check it out but nothing seems to have come of it. He had nothing on Kev.” Seth gave her a hug and a squeeze.

  Dave had quietly joined them. After waiting for a minute he said, “Nothing from the visitor then? I could use some of that coffee, Ginny.” She quickly filled a mug for him and he took a sip. “Ahh! Strong and hot. Good.” He sat at the table and looked at them both while slowly drinking the brew. “Don’t think we’re going to learn much more. We’ve a good idea of their strength and the layout … we got a floor plan from the realtor. I reckon Jimmy is pretty sure which room Kevin is in. Time for a decis …”

  Something clattered loudly in the drive close to the house. A neighbour’s dog began a furious barking.

  “What’s happening there?” asked Seth but not expecting an answer. Dave already had his Glock out of its holster. Ginny was more concerned about the cause of the noise than the sight of a firearm being readied for use. “I’ll go take a look.” Seth moved towards the rear door unholstering his Glock too.

  Ginny reached for his arm but missed. “Careful,” she pleaded, but Seth and all of them swung round as a heavy but polite knock came on the front door.

  “I’ll get it,” said Dave who was nearest. Before the others could move or say anything he had paced out of the kitchen to the front of the house and opened the door. His Glock was discreetly held behind his back. He held the door wide and there, framed in the bright sunlight, stood a well-built stranger in heavy boots, long pants and a black tee-shirt. His face was an expressionless swarthy brown. “Hi,” he rumbled in a deep voice. For a minute he said nothing else, just stood absolutely still surveying the interior and the humans facing him, for Seth and Ginny had followed on Dave’s heels.

  “Who are you and what do you want here?” asked Seth, now standing side-by-side with his bodyguard. Ginny, further back, watched fearfully. Was this one of the thugs who held her boy, she wondered. She didn’t like the look of him whoever he was.

  The visitor noticeably focused on Seth. “I am your personal ReeRee unit and …” Seth’s heart leapt. He could not believe what he was hearing. Already he could see some likeness to the alien he had met so many years ago. What now? “… you called for my assistance,” continued the figure framed in the door. “You are in trouble so how can I help?”

  Ginny and Dave turned to Seth. Dave was first with his question, “What’s this all about, Seth, my boy? You hired another bodyguard?”

  “What’s a ReeRee unit?” added Ginny weakly. She closed up to the other two and began to study the stranger carefully. The heavy boots didn’t quite go with her image of a bodyguard or private eye. There was something really odd about the stranger but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Well, Seth obviously would have all the answers. “Better come in,” she suggested.

  The stranger almost swept them aside as they turned into the living room. They all sat down, the stranger seeming to observe and then copy their lead.

  Seth shook his head slowly from side to side and wondered how best to handle this. Explanations to the friend and family came first …

  “This is not to you, my personal ReeRee unit as you call yourself. This is for my wife and friend.” The others both waited. “Ginny, Dave, you are not going to believe what I’m about to tell you … at first … but it is the truth. Gin will confirm that I’ve never had a mental breakdown or halucinations.” He gathered himself. “About ten years ago I went for a stroll in some thick woods to the north of here … part of the park. There I came across a guy who looked a lot like this, er, stranger. He was having some trouble with a gadget he had and I helped him out.”

  “What sort of gadget?” queried Dave who then regretted breaking into the story. He held up his hands, palms facing out. “Sorry, Seth. Carry on.”

  “Well, this is where it gets unbelievable. Perhaps where you doubt my sanity. In return for my help, the stranger gave me a small box rather like a TV controller. He tells me … in very broken English … that if I’m ever in very big trouble to press a button on the controller.” He stopped for a reaction.

  Dave said thoughtfully, “So? It’s odd but why unbelievable? And what’s the rest of the tale?”

  “Okay, here we go. This guy had four arms and, of course, four hands. He does something to another gadget he has and I’m out like a light. When I wake up, no sign of him. And here is unbelievable … I know this guy was an alien …”

  “Wait a mo; wait a mo,” said Dave, his sudden grin twisted. “That’s a helluva jump. You banged your head and had, probably, concussion and a dream. Where does ‘alien’ come from?”

  “From the clothes he wore. From his appearance and the four arms. From the gadget he was repairing and the gadget he gave me. I just know. Oh, and also, he mentioned a ReeRee unit and now his lookalike rolls up here and says that that is what he is.” A pause to let this sink in, then he added, “And I only just got around to pressing the button on the controller this morning … ‘cos we are in big trouble … and this stranger turns up. An’ I’m betting he’s no stranger but a robot.
”

  “Seth …” it was a gentle remonstration from Ginny. “What’s all this pressure you’re under doing to you, honey?”

  “Buddy! I’m with Ginny on this. It’s too far-fetched. But … you have an easy way out, Seth my friend. To me this guy here is clearly not a robot but there he sits and, with his permission, of course, I’m sure a simple test will prove which of us is right. Okay with that?” His eyes bored into Seth’s and he hurt inside knowing that they were about to prove that Seth’s mind had become unhinged. However, before the three humans could carry out a test or even move, the stranger stood up in a smooth, flowing movement …

  “I have understood the talk you have had and what it means. Seth is right and this I will prove.”

  With that he began the morphing process, now much speedier than before. The others watched in awed silence as the shape changed from humanoid to what was clearly a robot. Its surface changed to a much darker hue than the stranger’s skin had been and it took on a metallic gleam. Features like eyes and mouth morphed into a smooth, rounded surface. It took only a minute before, standing in front of the astounded trio was a robot with a flattened spheroidal head, smooth except for a circular recessed band too shadowed to reveal what features it contained if any. Maybe eyes of some sort but they weren’t visible. Below the head was neck and shoulders in one smooth, metallic continuum. The suggestion of arms or the ability to project arms was there and all noted there were four of these. The main body dropped in a gentle taper down to the floor where there appeared to be a slight gap between it and floor. There were no buttons or lights; no belt or sign of any weapons. That was it.

  “My God!” gasped Dave.

  The robot unit spoke. “Both you and Seth have called me a god. No such being has been proven to exist. I am a personal ReeRee unit and my master-friend is the one called Seth.

  “Did you have a master previously?” asked Ginny, beginning to recover. “If so, where is he?”

  “My previous master-friend was Keelon. He carried out extensive modifications to my design, finally using stolen material to give me morphing capability. He was captured by the Chasers and my self-calculating system concluded that he was terminated. This took place many calculating periods ago near your outermost planets.” Giving Seth, Dave and Ginny no time to absorb this, the unit carried on … “The call for me to attend you, Seth, indicates that you are in need of my defensive-offensive capability. Maybe also my scanning and calculating techniques. Is this so and in what manner may I serve?”

  It took some time for the three humans, shocked as they were, to come to terms with the new reality and begin to explore how indeed the unit could be put to good use. While they pondered which questions to ask, the unit stood motionless, patiently waiting. The passage of time when not being used was meaningless to it.

  Finally, yet before they all turned their attention to the main problem, the rescue of Kevin, Seth’s scientific curiosity prompted a question from him …

  “Keelotron … I guess that is the name we must use to address you … about your other title … ReeRee unit: what does that mean? Is it something to do with your functional use?”

  “The class of unitry to which I belong is that of personal assistant to the more intelligent living creatures of my world … the equivalent of you humans. They have developed my capabilities over a very long period of time. The early models had a cooling system utilizing a spinning blade that you call a fan. This was the only one of our components to make a noise as we moved about. That noise was a soft ree-ree sound and this became used as a rather frivolous … is that the correct descriptive word? … name for my type of unit. Many of us have been given personal non-descriptive names and it was my master-friend Keelon who chose mine.”

  All the humans smiled at this unexpected and mundane explanation about ree-ree and the robot, detecting this through the dark band around its head, placed its meaning as the sign of a pleasurable human emotion – but one which it could not empathise with. It had merely explained some cold facts to them.

  ………. In Kevin’s prison room his dirty plate and glass awaited collection. A grown-up in his predicament may have suffered a loss of appetite but Kevin was a boy and going through a rapid growing phase too. The drink had been the biggest disappointment; Kevin loved banana milk-shakes but when he had tackled the guard about this, the unsympathetic brute had grumbled, “Drink what you’re given, kid.”

  The same thug came in for the plate, fork and glass. He left a bottle of plain water and sneered at the boy who was sitting on his bed. “We-ell done! I’d’a left these but the boss is a strange guy. Likes to clean up as he goes along. I reckon he’ll clean you up when he’s sure your folks aren’t goin’ t’try anythin’ stupid.” He leered. “Me, I wish they would try sumptin’. Needin’ the john again? Then ‘op to it.” He burst out with a raucous bellow of laughter. “Get that, kid? … ‘Op to it?”

  ………. Just one hour after this, early afternoon, Seth’s party gathered south of the hacienda, well hidden by the thick undergrowth. It consisted of Seth, Ginny – who had refused to be left behind, Dave, Jimmy and two SEALS plus, of course, Keelotron now in humanoid form.

  A long discussion had taken place back at the Hellman’s house before they set out and the humans had been astounded – whilst still remaining somewhat sceptical – at the powers which the robot claimed to possess. They would soon know if any of it was true. With the service personnel also clued up, this was agreed as their final plan of attack …

  They would move in carefully, with the SEALS circling around the rear of the property. At the agreed time, 15.00 hours, which allowed them half-an-hour to get into position, they would take down as many guards as were visible using their silenced .50 calibre M82a1 Barretts. Jimmy would stand fast in a good spot and do the same with his XM2010, firing .300 Winchester Magnums. Keelotron, morphed back to its robotic configuration, would move in fast ahead of Seth and Dave and the robot would use its own specialised weaponry … this the others could only guess at. Ginny would stay with Jimmy but being ready to follow in fast when called upon to do so.

  Although no more than ten guards had been seen moving about outside the white building, Jimmy assured the others that there could be at least as many again inside the hacienda. He had studied the movement of water and food about the place … there were always signs. Each of the guards carried plenty of weaponry and there were, he knew, concealed heavy machine guns or rocket firers cleverly hidden.

  They were all tense and at least three of them had a small boy uppermost in their thoughts. At 1500 the first guard died. Others followed but the guards were well trained and soon concealed themselves behind specially built sections of reinforced walling. One or two went into the building and this is what Seth feared, wondering if they would harm his boy. It had been agreed that it was more likely, though, that defence would be the first priority of the guards.

  What neither Seth nor Dave had reckoned on, though, was the speed with which Keelotron could move in. In less than a minute they were left well behind the dark, bulbous shape as it glided soundlessly in over the ground. It followed the driveway in case any parts of the gardens were mined but this placed it in the open for a clear shot by the defenders. Straight away that is what happened … there was an almighty clunk from it as a missile of some sort struck it full on. Then it carried on, same speed, instantly calculating the source point of the defender’s fire. There was a strange shimmering wave from it to the located source and the wall which contained a vertical slit simply melted away. In quick succession other parts where defenders may have been concealed were connected to the robot by the shimmering wave and more wall sections and even windows melted into a smoky haze. Screams mixed in with the gunfire and one thug came out boldly and crazily started firing some heavy machine gun from his hip. A sniper’s bullet smacked him over backwards.

  Seth and Dave were nearly at the house now but, fortunately and miraculously, shots were not fired at them. Out
ward resistance had ceased but what was happening inside?

  Inside, Keelotron stopped abruptly on the polished wooden floor of the hall. In a few seconds he was humanoid again. Three thugs in different locations peeked around their cover at the strange giant who was moving fast now towards the stairs. A hand poked out an Uzi to aim but its owner screamed as the hand and gun melted. A low vibration filled the hall and the other two guards screamed and clapped hands to ears, dropping their guns. On up the stairs, two at a time but smoothly and silently, went Keelotron. There were just two men in his path … the guard who had fed Kevin and the tattooed one called Jose.

  Jose tried a sort of grin but with his thick lips not quite making it as he dropped his Barrett onto the carpet runner.

  “This one’s mine,” he snarled. “Don’t need any ‘eavy stuff … this’ll do just fine.” ‘This’ was a very longbladed panga which he had slipped out of its belt scabbard. “Jes’ watch this, Pico. You’ll like the blood.”

  He went into a slight crouch, moving forward surprisingly lightly on his tree-trunk legs. He would normally have circled an opponent but the upstairs hallway wasn’t wide enough for that. But there weren’t many hand-fighting or knife-fighting tricks that Jose didn’t know. And this one was going to be easy, the guy looked big and tough but he stood still and upright – obviously inexperienced at any man-to-man rough-house contest. Might even just crush his larynx, thought Jose flexing his tattooed biceps. Pico trembled at this coming spectacle … the new guy wasn’t even armed with a blade. He had seen before just what Jose could do. Still the dark stranger didn’t move. Pico could see that his fearsome compadre was just about within striking distance … and he could strike like a diamond back, Pico knew. The thought of covering the other guy with a weapon never even occurred to him. It would cost him his life.

  It is conceivable that if Jose had known clearly which method to use … a slashing cut or an arm round the throat … he might have had some remote chance of delaying his demise but, as he closed in on the foolishly immobile opponent, he never even saw as a blur the arm move and the hand which met his throat in a crushing blow. As he dropped to his knees and fought to breathe through the bloodily closed up airway, Keelotron at last moved and a second arm movement hit Pico at the side of his neck. He died instantly. Keelotron was now behind the kneeling, gagging Jose and a final blow at the indistinct line where neck met skull finished him too. The humanoid alien robot did not stop to survey the result of its first hand-fight with a human, it was over at Kevin’s door and calmly wrenched the locked door wide open.