Page 147 of Dustwalker

“Is that what he’s doing over there?” Rodriguez finally asked, looking up at Lara.

“What?”

“Killing babies. Murdering anyone that doesn’t obey. Letting people starve. Is that what Warlord is doing in Cheyenne?”

She nodded. “We’re his playthings. He keeps us around until we’re not interesting anymore, or we’re too much trouble. We need his permission to have children, and if a couple has more than one…the baby is killed. He doesn’t allow anyone to grow enough food to survive so we’re dependent on him. The entire settlement has to share a single water pump, and he shuts off the flow at his whim.”

Lara found Ronin’s hand again, twining their fingers. “Relationships between humans and bots are forbidden. My sister was taken in by a synth, and when Warlord found out about it, he beat her to death and tore the bot to pieces. He found out about me and Ronin not long after and hunted us across the Dust like animals.” She took a steadying breath and squeezed Ronin’s hand. “There’s no hope in Cheyenne. Onlyhim.”

“This is not something we have the resources to fix, Jack,” said Dave.

For a long while, Rodriguez scrutinized Lara. “It’s also not something we can afford to ignore for much longer, Dave.”

“They’re already using our resources without any sort of contribution or compensation. Already burdening our people. Now we’re going to risk our lives for them? That’s not the kind of decision that’s going to keep this place running through the years.”

Captain Cooper leaned forward in his seat beside Nancy. “If there’s a viable alternative to this place, it’s something we need to consider. The Andersons say we’re on limited time as it is, and all of us know people aren’t meant to live in holes like this.”

“We need sunlight,” Nancy said. “Even the few of us that go topside don’t get enough. The UV lamps don’t cut it, and they won’t last forever. The elderly are brittle, and too many of the young show signs of rickets.”

“Will your people fight, Miss Brooks? Will they lay down their lives for a chance at being free of Warlord?” Rodriguez asked.

“I can’t speak for them, but I think if they’re given a chance, if they’re given just a little hope...they would. They have nothing else.”

Rodriguez’s eyes flickered to Ronin. “And the bots?”

“I don’t know. Most are what you’d consider civilians, and I cannot guess the nature of their programming. Warlord’s gearheads will fight for him, but beyond that, I cannot say with any degree of certainty. Though…”

Ronin shifted his optics to Newton. The first voice Ronin had heard after reactivation, the source of his oldest uncorrupted memory... “If anyone could convince them, it would be the Prophet.”

The plates over Newton’s optics rose high as the room’s attention fell upon him. There was a faint quiver in his voice as he spoke. “The stories told about me as the Prophet are exaggerated. They border on superstitious nonsense?—”

“You’re the one who woke them up,” William said. “As bots have developed emotions over the years, that’s only become moresignificant to them. Stories are powerful things, whether we’re flesh or metal.”

“But to think that I’d have any special sway over anyone else... I don’t…”

“Brooks, are you willing to speak to your people? To rally as many to the fight as you can?” Rodriguez asked.

“I’ll do everything I can,” Lara said.

He nodded and turned to Newton. “She’s going to risk everything, again, because she thinks this is the right thing to do. What about you? Will you talk to the bots in Cheyenne?”

Newton frowned. “I... Yes. Yes, I will. Illogical as it may be to walk into the den of our enemy, stand up in the middle of the square, and incite a riot, I will.”

Sparks crackled across Ronin’s cheek, compelling him to scratch, but he kept his hands down. “Lara is still wounded, and any gearhead that knows her face will shoot on sight. She can’t go back to Cheyenne.”

Lara turned to him. “I need to do this, Ronin.”

The thought of her going back to that place, back within Warlord’s reach, dragged on Ronin’s processes and threatened to disrupt all his functions. “Somone else can do it, Lara. Anyone else. I need you safe. Need you alive.”

She pulled her hand free of his and cupped his jaw. “I can’t ask these people to sacrifice and not be willing to do the same. I know the people there, and they know me.” Leaning forward, she pressed her forehead to his. “We can’t let Warlord keep getting away with this.”

His processors calculated hundreds, thousands, millions of possibilities. Countless ways in which it could all go wrong, countless ways for him to lose her again. Permanently. But Ronin knew Lara well enough to know he wouldn’t win this fight.

He took her face between his hands and kissed her, shutting down the calculations, pushing aside his worry. There was only her. His Lara.

After pulling away, Ronin faced Rodriguez. “She is to be as far away from any fighting as possible.”

The Colonel nodded. “We’ll plan based on the map you drew for us. For now, I’m sure everyone’s fed up with this meeting. We’ll reconvene tomorrow morning to begin preparations.” Rodriguez raised a hand, silencing Dave Elliot before the man could say a word. “Dismissed.”