The ace looked at his companions for a moment. Luke placed the end of his hammer in the dirt and gave him a small nod. Marlo gave him an “okay” signal with his hand, hiding it from plain view behind his cannon.
Kaiden walked forward a few steps and said, “My apologies for our sudden and unexpected visit, gentleman. We are, in fact, delegates of the Scoundrel Butcher company. We figured we would drop by because this seemed like a fantastic place to do business.” He ended his statement with a low bow, his gun to his chest.
“Butchers? What, do you deliver sandwiches?” one of the others asked.
“I wouldn’t mind that—better than that gruel and those rations we keep eating,” another interjected.
“They seem rather heavily armored to be cooks,” a third added.
“That’s because they are obviously trying to play cute, you idiots,” Dense snapped. He turned away and leaned down to speak into Kaiden’s ear. “And I don’t appreciate it.”
“Oh, I’m not lying to you, sir,” the ace retorted. “We’re not butchers. Our name, if a bit on the nose, is quite literal.” He moved quickly, slamming the butt of his shotgun into Dense’s chin. In the same motion, he flipped it over and blasted him in his chest. His armor blew open as blood splashed onto two others behind him.
“We are in the business of butchering scoundrels, and as I said”—Kaiden fired another shot, blowing through a second merc who toppled and fell on top of the man beside him—“this seems like a great place to do business.”
Chapter Two
“Time for killing,” the Soulless Breed gang member shouted, taking a flying leap at Kaiden. He was briefly distracted by a bright light coming from his left and looked away for a split second before he was enveloped by a ball of plasma. It tore clean through his torso, leaving only appendages to crumble to the ground as the projectile continued through the port. It finally slammed into a small building nearly a hundred yards away and blew a hole in the side.
“Well, that will certainly get things going. Nice job, Marlo,” the ace declared, quickly taking aim at another enemy who targeted him with a machine gun. With calm deliberation, he blasted him through the leg. The man fell back and he fired his weapon into the air, then behind him as he collapsed. The wild volley forced a few gang members to roll out of the way.
“It’s what I do.” The demolisher chuckled, firing another charged blast into a group rushing out the door of another bunker. The shot erupted at their feet, burning a couple and searing through the armor of several more.
“You lot will make my night,” Jedrek, the merc with the chainsaw blade, growled as he stepped toward them.
Luke blocked his path, planting the head of his hammer into the ground. “Go ahead, start that thing up and show me what you can do.”
The man paused for a moment, looking at the dirty chain on the blade with a trepidation he hadn’t shown before. He grunted before lifting the blade and grabbed the handle at the base, tugging it down in one swift motion. A loud whine erupted from the blade. The chain jerked in place a few times but did not spin. Jedrek cursed, looking from the blade to Luke for a second before pulling the handle again. Another loud whine sounded and the chain inched around, then something cracked. The man just stared as a sudden metallic snap resounded and the chain was ripped from the blade. It whipped down his face and the front of his chest plate.
Jedrek cried out as he gripped his face, blood dripping down his armor. Luke laughed. “What did I tell you? You should’ve realized that proper weapon maintenance is far more deadly than threats and pointy weapons alone.”
The merc bared his teeth, spinning around to confront him. “I’ll still pierce your—” His words died in his throat, and the last thing he saw was the barrel of Luke’s hand cannon firing.
“Whatever you were about to say…I doubt that too,” the titan quipped. He placed the weapon back on his belt and took up his hammer. A siren began to blare around the rogue port, and various hostiles poured out from the sheds, barracks, and main building.
“You know, the last time a siren went off it didn’t end well for us,” Cameron recalled over the comm.
“Let’s not try to make it a future harbinger of doom and focus on getting this done,” Kaiden retorted, firing three blasts in quick succession and then venting his gun.
“I’m beginning to think we may have slightly underestimated the number of bastards in this place,” Marlo shouted, firing another massive blast toward the right side of the island they stood on. The impact decimated only a fraction of the onslaught headed their way.
“Eh, plus or minus a couple hundred, maybe,” Kaiden affirmed as he closed the vent of his gun and fired at the gathering murderous company. “But Genos should be back soon.”
Several eruptions blew through the hostile mass and Kaiden’s coat rustled in the wind. The Tsuna had indeed returned and now used the ship’s flak cannons to tear through the horde from above.
“Damn nice timing, Genos,” the ace said appreciatively. “Were you waiting for your cue or something?”
“I was waiting for the appropriate number of hostiles to amass. I want the best average of kills to shots fired. This ship only has so many shots,” the mechanist explained.
“Him saying that so dryly is actually rather chilling,” Luke noted while taking a massive swing and knocking back five mercs who had wandered a little too close.
“Dryly? Was that a pun on him being a Tsuna?” Kaiden asked.
“Unlike you, I’m not so ‘gifted’ at being able to come up with those in the middle of a firefight.” The titan chuckled and smashed his hammer down on a heavily armored gang member with a flamethrower.
“They’re scattering,” Marlo called. The horde was still coming, but several pockets had begun to retreat or at least try to dodge the incoming blasts from above, giving the trio a tad more breathing room.
“Well don’t let up. If they figure out what’s going on, they’ll head back into the main base where there’s much less room to maneuver in—gah!” The ace took a shot in the shoulder and slammed into the mud below.
“Sniper,” Luke warned as two more shots could be heard from afar, the bullets slamming into his heavy armor. He stepped back but remained unharmed.
“Snipers—multiple. We gotta start moving around,” Kaiden determined as he staggered to his feet. “None of us have the range to take them out from here, except maybe Marlo.”
“Little busy here,” the demolisher yelled as he let loose another charged blast. The returning fire from the rogue port denizens was beginning to overwhelm them. “My armor is almost compromised.”
“Even more reason to move,” Kaiden shouted.
At another shot of sniper fire, Luke stood in front of the ace, the shot slamming home and ricocheting off his armor. He held out a hand to hold his comrade steady. “Where should we go?”
Kaiden looked around and pointed to the main base. “Over there.”
“Aren’t we supposed to keep them away from there?” the titan questioned.
“Not inside, to the front—it’s got defenses and it’s barricaded. The building will cover our backs and we can focus on shooting them down from the stairs above.”
“Any ideas on how we get up there?” Luke asked, another couple of shots from sniper fire and a few machine gun rounds careening into his back. He turned around and yelled, “Would you stop that?” as a few bullets collided with his helmet.
Kaiden looked up at the ship. “Genos, can you focus your fire and get us to the building?”
“Certainly,” the mechanist replied. “I’ll have my EI take over the controls to the turret on the top of the ship and see if she can take care of the snipers while I clear a path.”
“Gotcha,” the ace acknowledged. He raised his shotgun again and fired into the crowd, walking behind Luke who advanced slowly, occasionally wiping out a group that got too close. “I don’t suppose you can hustle in all that armor?”
“Are you kidding?
This stuff ain’t built for sprinting. But I do have a bounce pack.”
“Do what?” Kaiden asked.
“Bounce pack. All heavies have one,” he answered. “Marlo! You got a bounce pack, right?”
“Of course,” he replied. “What about it?”
“We’re heading to the front of the main base. Let’s clear the way for our reckless ace buddy here.”
“I thought we were trying to stay away from there?” the demolisher asked.
“I’ll fill you in once we’re there. On my mark.” Luke looked at Kaiden. “When will Genos—”
“Good question. Genos?” Kaiden looked up at the ship.
“Prepared to fire on your signal,” the Tsuna responded.
“Do it.” A stream of nine blasts followed a line in quick succession several meters from them. The volleys tore through the guards and left a charred path to the main building.
“That’s a damn good start,” Luke cried and braced his hammer against his chest. “Ready, Marlo?”
“I’m with you,” he stated, gripping his cannon.
“Let’s go,” the titan cried. Kaiden saw three large vents pop out of the back of Luke’s armor. Blue flames fired from them and the huge man was sent soaring almost fifty feet into the air.
Marlo soon followed, and they catapulted forward in an arc. The demolisher fired a blast at a small group below him as he sailed overhead. Luke landed on a couple as he made landfall, then charged up the steps of the building, crushing any opposition in his way. His companion followed, turning to fire on his way up.
“I gotta get me one of those,” Kaiden murmured. He shook his head and ran after them, shooting sporadically along the way. Genos continued to fire the cannons around him, while frantic yells and cries melded with the explosions and gunfire.
As they made their way up, the ace noticed a few partially built turrets around the barricades. “Luke, think you can get those things working?”
The titan looked where Kaiden was pointing. “I think I got a better idea,” he said as he walked up to one of the turret heads and picked it up. He studied it for a moment and flipped a couple of switches before turning back down the stairs, holding the turret against his waist.
Those who charged up the stairs after them soon saw him over the ledge and turned quickly to run back as he charged the turret’s cannons. It fired large, explosive shells that blasted through the hostiles. Between that and the cannon fire from the ship, it was possibly the most violent fireworks display the ace had ever seen.
“That’s a hell of a symphony you got going on.”
“Oh, hey, Chief, you’ve been awfully quiet,” Kaiden murmured as the EI appeared next to him. Chief glowed an effervescent blue with white stripes surrounding his body and a shining white orb within his spherical frame. His eye was wide and white, surrounded by a second white ring, and it darted around, surveying the scene.
“Wanted to see how things turned out without my input. That way, you could say you actually accomplished something without my guidance.” He looked at him. “What you’ve done here,” he sniffed, “makes an EI proud, you know?”
“Odd time to be getting sappy,” he noted.
“I take the moments when I can get them. Also, you got a guy trying to sneak up on you.”
“I know, he’s on the scanner.” Kaiden pulled Debonair with his free hand and fired a trio of rounds behind him, shooting the potential assailant in the chest. The man dropped his blade and slumped down against the wall of the building.
“Nice grouping.”
“Why, thank you,” the ace said as he holstered his pistol. “While you’re here, is there anything I should know about?”
“Care to specify?” Chief asked as he turned to the field again. “Cause if you’re asking for a scoreboard, technically, Genos is beating you.”
“I figured that, but that’s not—”
“I love this thing,” Luke declared, firing into a retreating group of Red Sun mercs to the side of the stairs.
“Also, Luke is about to pass you too.”
“Look, they both have superior firepower. I’m not that petty—though I should probably bump up my numbers soon so I don’t look bad.”
“No kiddin’.”
“What I’m talking about is are there any secret surprises coming up? You reading any secret reinforcements coming this way or some sort of Asiton droid burrowing underground?”
“Ah…nah, nothing like that. Only the dreadnought in orbit.”
“Right, the dread— Wait, what now?”
“This room is the closest thing this hellhole has to a main tech room,” Cameron stated as he shot the lock off the door. “Not much, but I’m sure you can make something out of it.”
“It should prove sufficient as long as I can get direct access to their systems,” Chiyo said, walking into the room with the others.
“Once you get set up, let us know where the device is so we can retrieve it and depart. I’m not sure how long Kaiden and the others will be able to withstand an entire rogue port gunning after them,” Jaxon advised.
“Hey, Jaxon, you there?” the ace asked over the link.
“I read you, Kaiden.”
“Is Chiyo there? Her comm is still off.”
“She is. We’ve just arrived at the communications room and she’s beginning to look through the files for the—”
Kaiden cut him off, “Yeah, yeah, that’s dandy. So, um…look, apparently there’s a bit of a problem that we did not discuss before.”
“Has something happened? Do you need reinforcements?”
“While you are certainly welcome to come and join the fun, I don’t think a couple of extra blasters will do the trick here. According to Chief, we have a dreadnought overhead.”
“What?” Jaxon shouted and the others looked over in surprise. He used the commands on his visor to open his channel. “You are being broadcast to everyone here. Fill us in.”
“Oh, good, Kaiden’s back in my head,” Cameron muttered snidely.
“I can’t hear anyone else, but my gut says Cameron just said something sarcastic, so shut the hell up, Cameron, and everybody listen,” Kaiden demanded. The bounty hunter threw his hands up in frustration.
“Chief just informed me that there’s an enemy dreadnought in orbit. And it’ll probably head this way pretty soon.”
“A dreadnought,” Raul exclaimed.
“When exactly is ‘pretty soon?’” Silas asked.
“When a dreadnought is coming for your ass, any time that is not ‘never’ is soon,” the ace sneered. “But according to Chief, it’ll probably take around fifteen minutes to enter the atmosphere and another five to get here.”
“He’s right,” Chiyo stated, looking at a monitor in the room. “It was only called in a couple of minutes ago. But it’s on its way here.”
“So no one was able to detect this thing before now?” Izzy asked.
“It wasn’t in the mission glossary and no one has the ability to detect something that is that far out in space,” Jaxon answered.
“Not even Kaiden’s shiny-ass EI?” Cameron snorted.
“What was that? Cameron, Chief can somehow hear you and also says to shut the hell up, and that he was able to detect the alert that was sent out. And that it’s because of him that we know about the dreadnought now instead of when it’s blasting our asses to charcoaled squishy bits.” Kaiden relayed all this with a hint of humor in his tone.
“What the… How the hell can he hear me? I turned my mic off.”
“Because I am omniscient,” Chief stated, appearing behind Cameron. He jumped and aimed his rifle at the EI. “Or maybe it’s because of my ‘shiny-ass’ upgrade that now allows me to create temporary copies of myself that I can cast into anyone on Kaiden’s network list.” Chief floated past Cameron. “Pretty neat huh?”
“Spooky bastard…” Cameron muttered as he lowered his weapon.
“What can you tell us about the dreadnought?” Jaxon ask
ed, walking toward the EI.
“What, do you intend to fight it? I don’t think even Kaiden is that dense,.” Chief retorted.
“No, but if it arrives before we can pull out, we may have to outrun it. Knowing the specs could provide opportunity,” Jaxon reasoned.
“I don’t know the specifics. Maybe Chiyo can dig them up for ya. You don’t have to worry about a dreadnought chasing you down—not the fastest ships. But the long-range cannons and lock-on missiles could be an issue.”
“You just said you didn’t know specifics,” Izzy stated.
“Those are standard, sweetheart,” Chief responded.
“Then we’ll need to focus on speed instead of subtlety,” the Tsuna ace said.
“I’ve gotten used to that,” Chiyo mumbled.
“Have you found our destination?” Jaxon asked.
She nodded. “It’s toward the back of the building and one floor up.” She displayed a map of the building on the screen. “I’ll send a copy of the map up and stay here and activate the defenses in the building to help you and Kaiden out. Then I’ll rendezvous at the pad.”
“Understood.” He nodded. “Kaiden, we’re heading for the device. Are you holding out all right?”
“Just dandy,” the ace responded as he took out a couple more Soulless Breed members charging him with blades. “Not the best equipped, this lot. Marlo and Luke are taking down groups with almost every shot, and we’re well defended. I think we’ll be—”
Roars were heard from beyond the walls of the port. The trio and most of the members of the rogue port stopped firing or running to turn in the direction of the fearsome cry. The wall, built of scrap metal, rusted plating, spikes, and razors, began to shake as something smashed into it.
“Genos, what the hell is that?” Kaiden asked.
“The scanner is reading mutant signals from behind the wall—a dozen of them.”
“What specifically?” the ace asked.
The defense shattered, pieces of metal and loose spikes flying from the impact. A few projectiles skewered into random gangers and mercs. Kaiden’s eyes widened behind his mask as he vented his rifle and crept slowly up the stairs. “We…might need some help here.”
Animus series Boxed Set Page 64