Page 53 of Swept By The Alien Pirate Prince

As we trekked along, our odds of being spotted became increasingly likely. So, when after about half an hour of weaving through the jungle wilderness, and making it to the clearing, I expected it when it happened. Even though my blood ran cold — part of me had been bracing for it.

Deep down I thought all of us knew that an encounter with the Belic was inevitable, but we’d gone through the drills. We’d practiced what we’d say and how we would react and respond accordingly.

Cyburn had convinced us all that we were ready for this encounter. I almost believed it. My bones chilled, but I had a fierce determination that refused to be stifled, even under the dire circumstances.

So, when a fleet of Imperial robots approached us, I did my best to act like I belonged and like I knew what I was doing.

At first, Cyburn kept his cool about the situation. He explained to the robots that we were on a mission and were just passing through Alesis to refuel and possibly get supplies.

The robots performing the inspections were tall and intimidating to me, but Cyburn seemed unphased by them as they worked and shuffled around us.

The robot’s eyes were narrowed as if they weren’t convinced of Cyburn’s explanation and needed more information.

I was worried that they would be able to catch on that Cyburn and most of his crew members were Alesian and would make them easier to pick out.

Of course, I also assumed that the robots had been trained, conditioned, and programmed to ‘pick out’ any Alesians trying to sneak under the radar and infiltrate the capital — which was exactly what we were planning to do in the first place.

Cyburn didn’t let on that anything was out of the ordinary or that the robots should have any reason to suspect us of any rebellious activity.

He played the part with impressive accuracy. He could have fooled me. He was a fantastic actor, but it still didn’t seem to be enough to subdue the inspection units.

After what seemed like an endless process of grueling inspections at the gates of the capital, the robots refused to grant us access.

To make matters even worse, a set of hovering robots, shorter and smaller in size and stature, and with conveyer belt type of footing instead of actual legs or feet — began to cluster around us as well.

They swarmed around us, exhibiting buzzing sounds, peering down with us with more curiosity than hostility.

Their movements weren’t defensive. Their behavior wasn’t threatened. However, it did little to ease my mind. My eyes switched back and forth between them and the grounded robots, just waiting on them to strike and kill us all.

The flying robots had humanoid arms, humanoid faces, and muscular torsos. The upper half of their bodies were less robotic than the suspension fields they used to whip around, instead of legs.

“Who wishes to proceed into the capital?” the bigger of the six requested, its voice sounding like an echo effect being pushed through a wind tunnel or a megaphone. It filtered through the other five robots that were huddled in a circle formed around it.

Cyburn and Nix stepped forward. Their muscular shoulders were sturdy and raised proud. Their silhouettes were the token of bravery. I’d never felt such deep affection for Cyburn for taking the reins of the situation and doing his very best to keep us all safe — and more importantly — alive.

“We do.” Cyburn’s voice bellowed through the area, swept around by the increasing winds.

The robot with the most humanoid looking face, who also happened to be the one who had spoken for the rest of them, whirled closer to Cyburn.

It slowed down once he approached, keeping a safe distance. It hovered lower to be eye level with Cyburn and Nix. The same brightness of curiosity shone on its face.

“What is your name?” it asked.

“Cyburn,” he declared, pointing to himself without revealing his entire title. He pointed to Nix. “And this is my second in command, Nix.”

The robot turned, its followers doing the same, mimicking its movements. One by one, they began to distract the less self-sufficient, and less self-aware robots who had begun the initial inspection process upon us.

My heart was in my throat and my lungs refused to release the breath, holding it captive. I had no idea what these robots were capable of doing to us, especially because their movements were fast and jerky, and they swiped through the air with assurance.

Their speed, mobility, and the fact that we couldn’t reach them on the ground level gave them a supreme advantage over us.

Cyburn, however, didn’t seem as worried about the situation, so I tried to follow his lead and keep my appearance calm and collected.

Confusion began to stir its way through our crew, myself included, when it appeared as if the hovering robots were trying successfully to distract the robots and get them to leave us alone.

“We will take over inspection from here,” the lead, humanoid advised the other, grounded ones. “Your services are no longer required at this location. Please pick a spot on the east side of the gate.”

To my surprise, the ground robots began to comply, and receded one by one to what I could only assume was the east side of the gate.

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