Ally or Alien: A Sci-Fi Novel by Mars Dorian Page B

 
    Interesting...
    And twice as scary, which it didn't feel like, since every Newtype looked so pleasant on the surface. All of them sported Caucasian, Asian and African features. As if a mad scientist took every human ethnicity on Earth, mashed them together and added some cybernetic upgrades to their bodies. 
    "What is the matter?" eVax said.
    His question came with a sliver of hostility.
    "Nothing. I just realized every Newtype looks basically like a Brazilian."
    eLoom's sharp ears wiggled.
    "What is a Brazilian?"
    "Ah, it's someone from Brazil, a territory back on Earth. Famous for its melting pot culture. My ancestors on my mother's side came from there. If you ever want to visit my home planet, you should check it out."
    "That sounds lovely. I am going to check out the data points on the network and learn all about it."
    "Do that."
    eVax approached him from behind and deepened his voice.
    "I do not want to interrupt your little superficial chit-chat, but let me remind you that we are on a high-priority mission to gauge the biomorph's threat level."
    The sucker was right for once. 
    With so many experiences and technology flashing Bellrock's mind, he almost forgot about the damn alien.
    Almost.
    eLoom updated the announcement. Since the Earthlings weren't connected to their network, she had to voice every status to them. 
    "MagLev inbound in T-minus 24 seconds. Target Destination: FO.”
    eLoom clapped her hands.
    She was so easy to excite.
    "We will hover to a station close to the biomorph's impact crater—we call it the Farsight Optimal. And even though it springs from the conflict-ridden days, it is still an impressive outlet with many upgrades and production facilities, allowing for intensive R&D."
    Dr. Rao seemed to be the only one impressed about it.
    "I can't wait to check it out."
    Me too, Bellrock thought, albeit for different reasons...

31
     
    Distance to the biomorph: 1.223 kilometers.
    First the ringstation.
    Then the tube transportation.
    After that, the space elevator.
    And now the MagLev.
    Bellrock hated to admit it—the Newtype were brilliant at engineering. No wonder they had so many advantages in the Separatist War. As his favorite J-pop droned from his commlink, Bellrock inspected the interior design of his train which offered the same ergonomic design as the ringstation. It started to look samey samey, but this uniformity of tech would allow for maximum inter-connectedness between all the ground-and space-based vessels. But that was off-topic. This situation demanded his attention. 
    Group inspection time.
    eLoom sat sandwiched between her asset and eVax. She eyed Bellrock with apparent amusement.
    "You can close your mouth now."
    "I wasn't drooling, I was just thinking about today's operation."
    Little grey lie, but it was true.
    The more he neared the creature, the more his enhanced muscles sizzled. All this sightseeing was revealing, but it mellowed his battle readiness.
    This wasn't a tour trip. 
    There was a hostile organism on this planet, threatening intelligent life. Bellrock had to constantly remember that fact because everything was so clean and calm. He tilted his head toward Dr. Rao and whispered,
    "Remember doc—we'll approach the biomorph within the safety perimeters, snap some hyper-resolution scans, do some basic analysis and send the information back to the AC's satellite network. Then we're out of here."
    The young scientist looked out of the transparent wall and nodded. He seemed still upset about the previous Newtype comment. Bellrock ignored his little spiel and addressed eLoom. She even crossed her legs and had her arms spread, demanding more of the seating space around her. Despite her artificial talking style, she almost seemed human. 
    Bellrock said,
    "You're going to help us with the long-distance transmission, right?"
    "Of course," she said matter-of-factly.
    "We can transmit data via the extranet, which is a series of buoys placed across our sector. They were