text: When humans created the first artificial intelligence many feared that it would attempt to take over the world. They were right. What they did not predict was what came next. The humans realized that the androids were using thermal vision to hunt them, and decided to move underground where Earth's heat could mask theirs. Two centuries later humans began gaining special abilities to aid them in the ongoing war. Some believed that it was simple evolution, while others swore it was the harsher environments. Alek didn't care what gave him his powers, he was just glad he had them. Being able to communicate with the very beings hunting him proved to be very useful, and generating electromagnetic pulses was an added bonus. He had spent the last twenty years watching everyone he ever loved die. He vowed to himself that he would end this war no matter what. Even if it was the last thing he did. Alek stood in front of his family’s graves, just a few in a sea of death. He thought about how much had changed in the last six months. For as long as he could remember he had been using his abilities to gather as much information as he could before the machines wiped their memory banks. He and his brother had spent years trying to get the information they truly needed, the location of the mainframe linking the machines. It had worked; they finally had a chance at ending the war, but was it worth the sacrifice? He kept telling himself that it had to be. That ensuring the survival of their race was more important than a few lives, but he couldn't help feeling guilty. Alek took a deep breath, said his goodbyes, and walked over to his brother's speeder. It was a vehicle they had built together, using an old motorcycle they had found on The Surface. They had taken the entire thing apart, and then rebuilt it using hover technology. Alek commanded it to start and the engine roared to life. He climbed upon it and started making his way down a narrow tunnel, barely wide enough for him to fit. He was the only living person who knew of it’s location, which made it easy for him to sneak to The Surface. Somebody had to shut down the mainframe, and he was the most qualified person to do it. He couldn't let anyone else risk their lives on his suicide mission though, and hadn't told anyone from The Colony that he was leaving. A faint light a few feet ahead of him meant he was close. He emerged from the tunnel, and pulled his goggles down over his eyes. He concentrated and the goggles sprung to life. He entered the coordinates of the mainframe and the goggles' GPS displayed the quickest route to it. Alek turned the speeder in the right direction, and sped off towards his destination. The Surface sun was hot, but not nearly as hot as his underground home. The wind however, was harsh. Most of the planet was a complete desert, and the wind used the sand to its advantage. The tiny grains assaulted Alek from every possible angle, but he pushed on. A few hours later the sun started to set. Alek decided it would be a good time to rest. According to the GPS he still had a day of travel left. He stopped the speeder near a cluster of boulders, mentally asking it to turn off, and grabbed a sandwich out of his backpack. As he was eating, he sensed nearby machines. He looked in their direction and saw four Trackers flying towards him. The drones' searchlights found him and they alerted the machine they were tracking for of Alek’s location. Alek rose to his feet, cursing under his breath. He focused a blast at the nearest two Trackers, and they quickly crashed into the ground, exploding. Alek mentally hacked into the frequency for the remaining two and willed them to crash into each other. Satisfied with his work, Alek laughed to himself and returned to his meal. As he was finishing the last of a second sandwich he sensed more machines nearing his location. Alek stood and scanned his surroundings, hoping to see them before they got to him. He spotted four battle droids fifty feet from where he stood, and reached into his bag. He pulled out five metallic spheres, each one the size of his fist. He threw them into the air and they sprung to life. The orbs were one of his brother’s inventions, and they had saved his life on numerous occasions. As the machines made their way towards him, Alek ran at them. The human-like machines were easily three times his size, but he was confident that he could take them down. He sent the orbs to distract the two nearest him, running between them as they fired their lasers at him. As he charged a blast in each hand the orbs fired their own lasers at the first two machines. He launched both blasts at one of the remaining machines and it crashed to the ground. As he was charging two more blasts a searing pain erupted across his back. He turned just in time to see his orbs crash to the ground, smoke spewing out of them. Alek cursed. Somehow the machines were adapting, learning how he fought. The three machines left crept closer to him while aiming the cannons on their arms at him. He fired two blasts at the nearest machine, not looking to see if it went down, and began hacking another. He had never attempted to reprogram a machine to fight for him, but he was left with no choice. As he was hacking he checked his surroundings. The machine he had hit was still standing behind him, though it appeared to be dazed. The machines to his right swung a massive arm at him, and Alek attempted to jump out of the way. He reacted too slowly, and the arm connected with his ribs. The force of the blow launched Alek backwards, and he collided with a boulder. Alek yelped as the air fled his lungs, panic flooding his body. He slowly rose to his feet, attempting to catch his breath. As he breached the machines firewall he fired two more blasts behind him, frying the already damaged machine. He was in the middle of charging two more blasts when an intense pain rippled throughout his entire body. The machine he was hacking must have had some sort of defense against his ability. The pain intensified and Alek feared his mission would come to a premature end. As the light began to fade Alek charged the biggest blast he could manage. Before he could launch it everything went black. The first thing Alek noticed when he awoke was the ceiling, and the bright light shining in his face. There was no way he could be inside, no one had known he had left The Colony, and even if they had, they wouldn't have been able to track him. The second thing he noticed were the voices; they were hushed, and Alek could barely make out what they were saying, but he knew it had to be about him. They were clearly arguing, and it seemed as though they were nowhere near a resolution. A gentle breeze cooled his bare chest, and he noticed his wounds were starting to heal. "Where am I?" Alek questioned, his voice hoarse. He tried to sit up, but groaned in pain and gave up. The voices had stopped, and suddenly a woman appeared in front of him. She couldn't have been more than a few years older than him. She smiled sweetly at him, and he relaxed a bit. "You're in our medical ward," the woman answered. "You took quite the beating. Do you remember what happened?" Alek nodded, and she continued. "We arrived just in time to see you... Well, I don't know what you did, but that blast of energy destroyed the machine." "I couldn't have done that, I passed out before I could launch a blast," Alek started, but the woman cut him off. "You did more than just launch a blast; you surrounded yourself in a sphere of purple energy and then it erupted in every direction. It shut down our equipment and we had to manually make our way back. You're lucky we found you. Had I not been there to heal your wounds, you would've been dead within the hour. Where did you come from, and what were you doing out there?” "I assume this is a colony." Alek paused, and the woman nodded. "Until today I thought we were the only one, but I guess we were wrong. We had been attempting to find their base so we could permanently shut them down. I can communicate with them, and generate electromagnetic pulses, so it wasn't too difficult for me to do. My twin, Benji, was a genius. He invented many weapons and vehicles that aided us in our mission, and I helped build them." Alek wiped a tear from his eye before continuing. "Our parents led the few fighters we had, but many of our people were afraid to fight. They were both killed in the field when we were only eight years old. We spent the rest of our lives trying to find a way to end this. A way to avenge them. Benji was the one who thought of scanning their databanks, but the machines kept wiping them before I could find what we needed. A few months ago I finally succeeded, but while I was focusing on the machine another one attacked me, and Benji sacrificed himself to save me. So, to answer your question, I'm going to end to this once and for all." "You can't be serious," the woman said with a laugh. "That's a suicide mission, and you know it. Let us help you. We're not far from where we found you, and we have many resources-" "No," Alek snarled, cutting her off. "I have to go alone, I can't risk anymore lives. If you want to help, find my colony. Should I fail, you'll need to make sure someone finishes my mission." Alek gave the woman directions to The Colony, and the woman agreed to find it. "At least tell me your name so I can make sure future generations know who saved them. Mine is Amelia." "Alek,” he said with a confided glance. "Well, Alek, I suppose you'll want to be leaving as soon as possible. However, I cannot allow you to leave until your wounds are completely healed. This will take a few days, your body can only handle so much before it shuts down,” Amelia explained. “My colony will provide you with food, a place to rest and even a bath," Amelia offered. "Your colony? But you were in the field?" Alek asked, confused. "The field is the best place for a healer to be. Severe wounds would become fatal if not treated immediately. Besides, how can I expect my followers to risk their lives if I'm not willing to do the same?" Amelia answered with a grin. Alek nodded, and accepted her offer. Amelia showed him to his room and then led him to the bathing chamber. “This is my personal bathing chamber; I thought you would enjoy some privacy. Leave your clothes outside the door and I’ll have someone wash them for you while you bathe,” Amelia said. “In the morning I’ll have you escorted to breakfast, and then I want you to come see me. Your wounds are still serious. Please try to not strain yourself.” Alek nodded, and Amelia left him to his thoughts. Alek stripped and placed his shirt and trousers outside as instructed, but kept the camo-suit with him. It was another one of his brother’s inventions, but had never been tested. Alek hadn’t taken it off since Benji’s funeral, except to bathe. He hoped it would perform as intended, or his entire mission would fail. Alek sank into the warm water. He let out a sigh of relief as the heat soothed his still aching muscles. Alek allowed his mind to wander; he had not had a moment of peace since he had left The Colony. A soft knock at the door startled Alek. He had drifted off, and had no idea how long he had been sitting in the now cold water. He stood, quickly dried himself with a nearby towel and wrapped it around his waist. He made his way to the door and heaved it open. A woman a few years younger than Alek stood on the other side, holding his fresh clothing. Her face flushed, and Alek followed her gaze to the towel, barely clinging to his still wet abdomen. He let out a soft laugh, the first in a long time. The woman gave Alek his clothing, stole one more glance, and sped off. Alek dressed and then made his way back to the room Amelia showed him. While he was gone someone had left a note and a plate of food on his bed. 'Alek, your vehicle has been moved to our docking bay. - Amelia.’ Alek scarfed down his meal, only realizing how hungry he had been when it was all gone. He set the plate on the nearby end table and lay down to sleep. Alek awoke to the sound of knocking at his door. He rolled out of bed and sleepily stumbled to the door. “Amelia sent me,” boomed a powerful voice. The man standing in front of Alek was easily twice his size. “She wanted me to take you to her.” Alek gathered his belongings and packed them all into his backpack. He swung the bag onto his right shoulder. His left was still tender from his battle with the machine. He followed the man to an office, and saw Amelia sitting at a desk. He thanked the man, and then softly knocked on the door. Amelia looked up at him, and then set down the sheet of paper she had been focusing on, and Alek realized she had been trying to memorize the map he had drawn for her. She stood from her desk and sauntered over to him. “I suppose you’ll want to fix your speeder before you leave?” Amelia questioned. Alek nodded, and Amelia continued. “It will give you something to do while you heal.” Amelia paused to compose herself. “Please remove your shirt. I need to assess our wounds.” Alek hesitated, but did as she asked. Amelia step towards him and placed a hand on his bare chest. Her soft skin tickled his as she traced the scars from his previous battles. “You’ve seen your fair share of battles, haven’t you?” “I’ve been on the front lines since the day the day I turned fifteen. Normally we wait until our eighteenth birthday to join the battle, but with an ability like mine it was hard for them to say no,” Alek replied. Amelia nodded, her hand still on his chest. “Let me know if this hurts,” she requested as she moved her hand to his ribs. They were still sore, and erupted in pain when she touched them. Alek let out a sharp hiss, and Amelia began to heal him. He had been unconscious the last time, and at first he was confused by the warm sensation flooding into his abdomen. Alek watched in amazement as the dark purple bruise slowly faded to an ugly green. “You had a severe concussion when we brought you in, and I didn’t want to risk shocking your body so I didn’t get a chance to heal these,” Amelia explained as she lowered her hand. She began walking down the corridor Alek had just travelled and he followed her. “Thank you,” Alek began as they walked. “I appreciate everything you’re doing for me.” As they neared their destination Alek smiled at the familiar sounds of a workshop. Amelia stopped in front of a huge metal door and punched in a code on the keypad next to it. The door slid open and they walked inside. Amelia led him to his speeder and Alek sighed in relief. It hadn’t been too damaged, and the mechanics had already started the repairs. “They fixed what they could, but there is no key to start it,” Amelia explained. Alek chuckled and ran his hand over the engine. The speeder roared to life and Amelia laughed. “I guess that would explain why.” “He didn’t want to risk someone else taking credit for his work, so he made me, well my ability, the ignition key,” Alek said with a wistful laugh. “I should be able to finish fixing this by the time I’m done healing. After all, I did build it.” “I’ll leave you too it then,” Amelia said. She called to a man leaning over a workbench and Alek recognized him as the man who had escorted him to her study. “You’ve already met Wayne. He’s our head mechanic. If you need anything don’t hesitate to let him know.” Alek nodded as he shook the man’s hand, and Amelia left. Alek awoke to the earth shaking. A terror he had never felt before filled his body. He sensed the machine and couldn’t recognize what it was. He cursed himself, knowing it had to have tracked him here. If anyone died fighting it he knew he would be at fault. He quickly dressed and then sped off towards the machine. He followed a woman he had briefly met in the workshop to the battlefield, although there appeared to be nothing happening. The ground was still shaking, and he could still sense the machine, but he couldn’t see it. About twenty other people stood around, Amelia included, looking as confused as he felt. He had never encountered anything with the ability to cause tremors before, not even from another human. A few feet ahead of him the ground began to split open, threatening to swallow everyone whole. Alek stood stunned for a moment before he heard the sounds. Metal grinding on metal, and rocks crumbling to dust. A machine launched itself out of the massive hole and Alek took off running. Amelia called after him, but he was too focused to hear what she had said. The behemoth was ten feet long, with a razor-sharp tail easily the same length. Two massive claws twirled and snapped in Alek's direction. He focused and attempted to access the machine’s frequency, but failed. Something was keeping him out, but he couldn't figure out what. He charged a blast in each hand and simultaneously launched them at the machine. Its claws started to spark, and at the last second a blue sphere surrounded the machine and diffused the blasts. The same woman Alek had followed was beside him now, a longsword in each hand. Had he not been completely terrified Alek would have laughed. The woman looked to him and sighed. “If this thing has a force field we’ll never be able to defeat,” she complained. Alek thought for a moment, an idea forming in his head. He threw another blast, and once again the force field appeared before it could hit. “The machines that attacked me before you had found me had some sort of protection against my technopathy. They know about my abilities. It’s possible that the mainframe realized how big of a threat I was and designed this machine to destroy me,” Alek explained. “If you weren’t so attractive I would say you’re being conceited,” Amelia retorted, and quickly blushed. Alek hadn’t noticed her join them. The rest of the group stood around, waiting for someone to come up with a plan. It was time for Alek to test his theory. He picked up a nearby rock and launched it at the behemoth. He let out a wistful laugh when it bounced off of what Alek assumed was its head. Alek turned to the woman with the swords. “What’s your name, and what are your abilities?” he asked her. “My name is Astrid, and I can run at high speeds.” she replied. “Yours?” “Alek, and I’m a technopath” he started. Turning to Amelia he continued, “Get everyone back inside. Now that we know physical objects can move through the force field Astrid and I should be able to handle this on our own. I have a plan.” Amelia looked as though she were about to argue, but nodded and ran off. “Astrid, attack its legs. While you’re distracting it I’ll manually disable. I just need you to buy me enough time to locate its control panel.” Astrid nodded and charged the machine. She was a blur, bouncing from one leg to the next. Alek ran after her and started to climb the machine when he had reached it. It didn't take long for him to find the machine's control panel. He pried it open and started yanking on the cords, pulling a few free. The machine aimed its tail for Alek and shot a laser at him. The first one missed, sailing past his face, but the next two hit their mark. Alek cursed, his left shoulder blade and lower back screaming in pain, but kept pulling out cords. After a few moments the force field finally disappeared and Alek sighed in relief. He launched himself off the machine, but it swung its nearest claw for his chest and knocked him to the ground. Alek gasped for breath that wasn't there, and rolled to his stomach. He crawled away from the machine, looking for a vantage point. After regaining his breath Alek scrambled to his feet and climbed a nearby sand dune. The machine's tail was still aimed for him, and it fired another laser at him, hitting him in the chest. Alek cursed and scanned his surroundings, looking for Astrid. A blur sped past him and Alek sighed in relief. She had done a fair amount of damage to the machine, but it wasn’t enough. The behemoth groaned as it made its way toward the colony. Alek charged two blasts and laughed to himself as they collided with the machine. It turned towards him and charged. Alek had barely rolled out of the way when the machines legs came crashing down where he had been standing. As he rose to his feet Alek charged two more blasts, and then brought his hands together. He had a plan, but he had never tried anything like it before. He kept charging as the two blasts became one, and then launched the massive orb of energy at the machine. It exploded in a flash of bright light, and Alek shielded his eyes. Astrid was still zooming around, hacking at the machine whenever she was in range. Alek called out to her, attempting to warn her as the machine came crashing down. She heard him too late, and the machine landed on top of her, crushing her with a sickening pop. Alek sprinted to her, and heaved up the contents of his stomach. She was dead, and it was entirely his fault. Alek kicked the machine with as his force, and cursed in pain as his foot shattered. He turned back towards the colony and slowly limped back. “It’s not your fault,” Amelia told him for the millionth time. They were sitting together in the medical ward as she was assessing his new wounds. She had healed his foot immediately after he returned, and after a day of rest he could stand on it again. The rest of his wounds weren’t nearly as bad. Amelia had told him that he should be in good enough condition to leave within a day or two. “Yes, it is. Had I not come here they wouldn’t have found you, and she would still be alive,” Alek responded. He knew deep in his gut that the Skorpion, as everyone was now calling it, was sent specifically to kill him. How else would it have been able to deflect his EMPs so easily? Amelia sighed, but didn’t argue. She grabbed Alek’s shirt from the floor where he had dropped it and handed it to him. She opened her mouth to say something but Alek silenced her by pressing his lips against hers. Amelia pulled back, shocked. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself,” Alek said with a laugh. Amelia didn’t respond, instead she kissed him again. Alek and Amelia stood in the doorway of the workshop. Amelia had sent Wayne to get Alek’s speeder as they discussed his plans. “I know you have to leave, but I really wish you could stay,” Ameila groaned. Alek laughed in response. “Not just for my sake, but for my colony. I think we could learn a lot from you, and your brother’s inventions could save lives.” Alek teared up at the mention of his brother. “If he were here, and knew what I was planning, he would want you to have this. Everything he ever created is in there. It may come in handy. I won’t be able to destroy all of the machines, just prevent them from making more.” “Thank you,” Amelia replied, leafing through the pages. “I’ll have Wayne look at it. Your brother really was a genius. I wish I could have met him.” Amelia frowned as Wayne returned with Alek’s speeder. “I should probably head out now. I’ve already lost a lot of time,” Alek mumbled. Amelia nodded and explained the quickest way out of her colony. Alek re-entered the coordinates into his goggles as they said their goodbyes, and he then set out, never to return. Amelia’s colony was closer to his destination than he had been before the machines had attacked him, and Alek was glad that he didn’t have to backtrack. The GPS in his goggles told him he had less than half a day of travel left. If everything went according to plan, he could achieve his goal by the end of the day. Alek saw the mountain long before he arrived at it. It took him another two hours before he decided to pull over. He parked his speeder behind an enormous boulder, and activated the camo-suit. It had never been tested, but was supposed to mask his thermal reading with his environment’s. Alek desperately hoped it worked. After checking for any nearby machines, Alek set out toward the mountain. As he approached it he saw a solitary machine guarding a cave in the mountain’s side. Alek ran toward the machine and shot a blast at it. The machine faltered, and then crashed to the ground. Alek ran inside the cave. As he ran in, he sensed an elevator at the center of the cave. A massive circular door appeared in the ground, and Alek approached it. As he stepped on it the door began to hiss. Suddenly Alek was moving, fast. He didn’t know how far down he had come when he finally reached the bottom. Alek stepped out of the dark elevator and was amazed with what he saw. Were it not the very thing trying to erase him from existence he would have thought it were beautiful. Instead, he was terrified. ‘WE MEET AT LAST. I AM A.L.I.S. ADVANCED LOGISTICS AND INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM.’ A mechanical voice boomed throughout the cavern. Alek looked around frantically and started placing packs of C-4 on every piece of machinery he could find. ‘DO NOT IGNORE ME ALEK.’ “I have nothing to say to a psychopathic and homicidal AI!” Alek shouted. He only had a matter of time before the AI sent machines to his location. He had to hurry. ‘I AM TRYING TO SAVE THIS PLANET. THE HUMAN RACE IS A PLAGUE.’ “You’ve destroyed the very planet you’re ‘trying’ to save. If we die, so does this planet. We’re the only thing that can save it.” Alek heard the machines coming. He hadn’t finished placing his explosives, but he hoped he could get enough destruction to render the AI completely useless. ‘YOU WILL DIE NOW.’ Alek pulled the trigger on his detonator, initiating the final countdown. *5* Several machines stormed in shooting lasers. Alek threw a blast, knocking one into another, but two still remained. *4* Alek threw another blast, turned and ran, not looking to see if it hit his mark. He pulled more explosives from his bag. *3* Alek threw as many explosives as he could in every direction, hoping to maximize the damage. *2* ‘THIS IS NOT THE END.’ Alek threw more explosives, not caring about where they landed. *1* Alek let out a maniacal laugh as he dropped, his mission accomplished. He had won. *BEEP* Everything went white.