Red lights greeted the time travelers. The door to the closet had been removed. Greg and Vega spilled out onto the floor of the silo and looked at the army of machines standing in formation.
"...MINUTES UNTIL DESTONATION!! ALL PERSONEL ARE TO REPORT TO SAFE ZONES," an amplified voice echoed in the chasm.
Greg craned his neck up at the red swirling warning lights eighty feet above his head. A framework of metal beams spanned the interior of the silo, adorned with large square tubs. Cables led out from the charges, then merged into a thick rope that extended up to the surface.
They had arrived with little time to spare, just as Vega had planned. The field of robots took Greg's eyes away from the unquenchable chemicals that were poised to detonate above their heads.
The war machines were smaller than Greg expected. But he was not fooled by their size; they appeared deadly serious. The robot's body shape was an imitation of a human form: a head on a neck, over shoulders, with two arms and a torso. Where it differed was the addition of minor arms and tools attached to the midsection. The upper body sat upon a single tracked foot with independent treads, resembling the belly of a snake. Brackets hung bare on the backs of the robots, places where integrated weapon systems had been removed for decommission.
The formation of impersonal faces struck fear into Greg. Each head was an armored unit with a flat face: a black downward pointing pentagon. The dark face offset the tarnished, but brilliant white of the robots housing. He could just imagine these heads all turning at once, locking on to the intruders. Metal hands rising, then close in on him.
"TWO MINUTES UNTIL DETONATION!! ALL PERSONEL CLEAR THE EXPOSED AREAS!"
"This one doesn’t look damaged at all!" Vega said, side-hopping down the line.
Using the metal-man like a sign-post, Vega swung around the robot. He perched on the track platform, inspecting the robot. "Look for a hand control unit! Hurry!"
Greg broke from his spot and started searching the other stationary robots for the device Vega needed. On the front corner robot, he found what he was looking for.
Greg pulled the connecting end from the torso and held the joystick unit up in the air. "Found it!"
"Quick! Over here! We need to drive this guy out and onto our feet!"
Greg scampered back down the line, bringing the drive stick with him. He plugged the male end of the cable into a matching port and experimentally ticked the controller. The robot moved diagonally a short distance on its free-moving track base.
Vega nodded. He and Greg followed the robot forward, off the formation line, to the outer edge of the silo.
"ONE MINUTE UNTIL DETONATION!! I REPEAT, ONE MINUTE UNTIL DETONATION!"
The pair stood on opposing sides of the equipment that they had come so far to acquire. Vega stood at the front of the tracks, legs shoulder width apart, toes positioned to receive the load.
Greg did the same, now fully realizing the importance of buying the highest quality boots.
Vega nodded to Greg and he moved the stick in the forward position at a slow pace. The robot rolled up on top of their boots until it was off the ground and perched upon their feet.
"THIRTY SECONDS UNTIL DETONATIONS!! THIS IS THE FINAL ALERT! BEGIN COUNTDOWN!"
A siren sounded over their heads.
"You ready?" Vega shouted over the noise.
Greg nodded, covering Vega's hand. With visual confirmation that both men and their loaded equipment would be traveling, Greg flipped the coin. He began to feel the weight of the robot on his feet as the coin hit its zenith and they winked out of the silo...
The Canadian war robots stood in formation, like the loyal soldiers they were. The countdown on the surface reached zero. The thermite was ignited and sparks began to rain down on the apparatus below. There would be nothing that survived. The chemical combination produced an exothermic reaction, which achieved 2200 degrees Kelvin. The silo and everything it contained was completely enveloped. No one would confirm the destruction of the robots, or even notice the missing two: one from the front of the formation, and one from the rear.
A week later, the hole was filled and the base was decommissioned.