Star League 6 Read Free

DETECTED!’ screeches one of the Sentrybots. ‘ATTACK!’
    I guess iRis was wrong when she said the Sentrybots wouldn’t attack me if I destroyed their leader!
    A Sentrybot lunges at me and I dive to the floor. I crawl under the legs of a row of Sentrybots and towards the Star League.
    â€˜On the count of three, jump!’ I tell them.
    â€˜What?’ asks Roger. ‘What are you –’
    â€˜There’s no time for questions!’ I interrupt. ‘Just do as I say! One … two … three!’
    They jump into the air, and the minute their feet are off the ground I send a wave of electricity crackling through the metal floor. It doesn’t deactivate the Sentrybots completely but it stuns them, which means that if we work together we might have a chance of defeating them.
    â€˜I request your help!’ I shout, and the others leap into action.
    Jay moves quickly with a combination of martial arts moves to power down the bots. Connor fights with less style but a lot more strength as he tears the robots apart in werewolf form. Asuka uses her wooden staff to destroy the control panels onthe Sentrybots’ chests. Roger throws a potion that turns the robots around him to rust, and Leigh and her monkey, Chu, work as a team disabling the robots’ wiring.
    In two minutes and forty-eight seconds all of the Sentrybots have been deactivated.
    â€˜Phew! That was close,’ says Asuka.
    â€˜Yeah, I’d like to know who sent those ’bots so we can teach them a lesson!’ agrees Roger.
    â€˜Well, the Sentrybots did say they were heading to Falcon Laboratories next, so maybe whoever sent them is going there, too,’ suggests Leigh.
    â€˜Sounds like a good idea,’ says Jay. He turns to me. ‘Thanks for helping us out back there, Sam. If it weren’t for you we’d be history!’
    â€˜Yes. It is a good thing I had reason to believe you were walking into a trap and waited behind,’ I tell them. I expect them to see the logic in this, since everyone is safely out of robot hands, but instead they look outraged.
    â€˜What? You knew it was a trap?’ fumes Asuka.
    â€˜How could you just stand by and let that happen?’ asks Leigh.
    â€˜My systems confirmed this plan had the highest chance of success,’ I explain.
    â€˜We could have been hurt!’ says Roger.
    â€˜But you weren’t.’
    The others glare at me before storming out of the room. Only Jay stays behind.
    â€˜I don’t understand why everyone is mad at me, Jay,’ I tell him. ‘My statistics indicated …’
    â€˜Sam, not everything’s about statistics.’ He pats me on the back. ‘You can’t just listen to your head all the time. You also need to do right by other people, and that means listening to your heart.’
    â€˜But I don’t have a heart,’ I tell him. ‘I have a nervous system comprised of wires and …’
    â€˜That’s not what I mean.’ Jay sighs and then smiles. ‘I guess the whole “having feelings” thing is like learning to walk for a robot. You’ve just got totake it one step at a time.’ Jay turns to leave. ‘Come on. The others will get over it. For now we’d better get to Falcon Labs and try to catch whoever is behind all this.’
    I’m about to follow Jay down the hall when I feel a hand on my shoulder. As I turn I’m surprised to find a robot standing behind me.
    She looks almost humanoid, though I can tell she’s a robot by the glowing control panel on her wrist. Around her shoulders she wears a purple cloak with a hood that covers her face.
    â€˜iRis?’ I ask.
    The robot nods and puts a finger to her lips to show that I should be quiet. Then she backs away down the hall.
    â€˜Are you coming, Sam?’ Jay calls from the doorway.
    â€˜I will return in one minute,’ I yell, then I follow iRis into the shadows.

As I wander