“Works for me.” Kaiden nodded, placed his rifle on his back, and took out his blade. “One last thing before we head in. Are we going for the power core or the server for the big points?”
“I suppose it depends on which one we run into first, unless Chiyo can get the map,” Genos said, putting his plasma rifle away and activating his gauntlet to form a c-grip. “I do know that power cores are usually heavily guarded, for obvious reasons. It would take all of us to push through and get to it, but it will only take me a couple of minutes to deactivate it once I am there.”
“The server may be less well guarded, but it will take me longer to hack in, not to mention any traps they might have both within the server and without,” Chiyo informed them.
The soldier paused as he considered the options. “All right, we’ll make the power core our goal. If it looks too heavy, we’ll keep the server in mind as our back up. Sound good?”
His teammates nodded, and they moved swiftly from the hill they stood on and made their way toward the base.
Kaiden approached a guard looking out a window in the hallway. He crept up behind him and dug his blade into his throat. The guard disappeared, and three points were awarded.
“That makes one hundred and one points so far,” Kaiden said as he continued down the hall, beckoning his teammates to follow. He stopped when he saw a turret in the distance scanning the room, then looked back at Chiyo and pointed it out. She nodded and tapped a few commands into her console. The turret stopped moving and deactivated, awarding them four points.
“Hey, what’s up with the turret?” an agitated voice asked.
“Don’t know. Did it crap out?” another wondered as heavy boots stepped along the metal floor.
Genos moved up to Kaiden’s side and they crept along the wall. The two guards appeared from the hall, walking past them to inspect the turret. Kaiden pointed to himself and then to the guard on the left, then indicated that Genos should take the guard on the right. The Tsuna nodded and they snuck up behind their respective targets. The soldier once again drove his blade into the guard’s neck, while the mechanist clamped his claw over the other guard’s neck and tightened the grip. As the first target disappeared and awarded three more points, bones snapped and the second man fell and disappeared.
“Nice job,” the ace said, the compliment genuine. “Let’s see if we can find… Aha.” He spied a room across the hall from where the guards had approached. Swiftly, he turned and headed in its direction when he heard a mechanical whirring behind him.
“Kaiden, look out,” Chiyo warned. He spun and fell to the floor, Debonair in his hand and pointed up behind him. The turret had reactivated and was pointed at him. It exploded as Genos fired his hand cannon at it.
“What happened? I thought you deactivated it?” the soldier asked, looking at her.
She activated her holoscreen and looked through it. “I did, but… It appears they have a hacker or infiltrator of their own. They have access to the security systems on this floor. I can’t shut them out, but I’m delaying their commands.”
“Using our own plan against us, sneaky bastards.” Kaiden chuckled ruthlessly. “Well, that means that they are either holed up in some room or their hacker is all alone. Easy pickings.”
“The room ahead may hold nodes or terminals. We should let Chiyo get in there and secure us some more points,” Genos advised.
“What’s the score currently?”
“They have a slight lead, probably because they hacked that terminal, but once we have done the same we should pull ahead.”
“All right, let’s get moving,” Kaiden instructed. They made their way to the room, where Genos slid the keypad off with the screwdriver on his gauntlet and messed with the wires. The door opened, and they gained six points. Within were six servers and a console.
“Genos, take a look at that console. Chiyo, get started on those servers,” Kaiden ordered. “I’ll keep a lookout.” The two hurried to their tasks as the ace peered around the door. He looked inside after a couple of minutes to see that the infiltrator had just finished with one of the servers. “How many points was that worth?”
“Forty, which means that when I get through with the other three, we should have a total of one hundred and sixty points,” she answered.
“Good, keep them coming.” He closed the door and walked over to the Tsuna. He had ripped a couple of the consoles out and tampered with them, but was now looking at a screen and flipping through the channels. “What have you found, Genos?”
“Camera feeds, it seems, but some of them are blacked out,” the mechanist explained.
“Probably shot down or deactivated by the other team,” Kaiden reasoned.
“Fortuitously, there is a rudimentary map here on the console.” Genos pointed to a map that showed each floor and was highlighted with numbers. “The numbers correspond to each camera on their respective floors. Using the numbers of the deactivated cameras, I can plot the enemy team’s course.”
“Where are they headed?” the soldier inquired.
“They seemed to have come in through the first floor and gone up to the third, and following their path there would seem to lead them… Oh, dear.”
“What’s wrong?” Kaiden asked. Suddenly, there was a loud rumble, and the lights went out. Kaiden looked around, bewildered, as red lights began to flash around the building. “What happened?”
“The power core. Their destination was the power core,” Genos stated. “They are trying to rewire it. Having some difficulty, by the looks of it.”
“They haven’t succeeded, have they?” the ace demanded.
“No. Not yet, at least, but once they do, they will have more points than us. They could overload it and blow this entire building.”
Kaiden heard Chiyo fire her kinetic pistol. He turned and saw her removing something from the servers. “What are you doing, Chiyo?”
“The servers got shut down, so I’m taking the hard drives. I got some points for it, but I can still access the hard drives and get a few more. We’ll need as many as we can get if we’re going to make up the difference.”
“We can still stop them if we get to them in time,” Genos suggested.
“Maybe, but they’ll be dealing with a stampede of guards soon. Although considering the caliber of the guards so far, that may not be as much of a hope as I’m making it out to be.” He scowled under his mask.
“So what do you think we should do?” the infiltrator asked.
He thought about it for a moment before looking at his team. “Genos, were you able to see where the payload server was, by any chance?”
“It was also on the third floor. No doubt they are trying to take that as well.”
Kaiden nodded and held out his hand. “Chief, get out here.”
The EI appeared in his hand, slightly shrunken, and looked up at him. “What’s happening, partner?”
“We’re going to need your help,” he stated, then focused on his companions. “I got a plan.”
“What kind?” the Tsuna asked.
“Oh, you should know by now, Genos.” Kaiden chuckled. “I only do crazy.”
Chapter Fifteen
The enemy team’s two hackers worked on the server, one trying to deal with its internal defenses while the other tried to make his way inside. They heard gunfire from outside the room. One of them looked at the other and motioned for him to check it out. He walked to the door with his submachine gun at the ready. He reached toward it, but it opened before he made contact. Bullets flew through him before he had time to react, dropping him to the floor. The other hacker raised his pistol quickly but was met by another hail of kinetic shots and laser fire, dropping him as well.
“Howdy and goodbye,” Kaiden sneered as his team walked into the darkened room.
Chiyo walked over to the server, noticed a small box at the base, and knelt to inspect it. “A small energy generator used to keep the server functional during the blackout,” she observe
d.
“Those two deaths will cost the other team forty percent of their points and some lost time,” Genos noted as he vented his rifle. “We should make the most of it.”
Kaiden nodded and looked at the infiltrator, who was already at work on the server. “You good with this, Chiyo?”
“Of course. It will be some time before they return, and we will be prepared for them,” she responded and continued to type. “They had already begun their attempt, but it’s shoddy work, I must say. I suppose they were going for quantity over quality.”
“Hey, they’re only artificial hackers. Think of their feelings,” Kaiden quipped.
“I would rather use that energy to crack this payload,” she retorted. “Go on, I’ll be fine. You need to worry about them taking the power core.”
The lights came back on, and they held their guns at the ready. “Seems it’s a bit late for that.”
“They restored the power but don’t have the core under their control just yet. They haven’t gained the points,” Genos informed them.
Chiyo looked at the small turrets in the ceiling. “The hackers apparently deactivated the turrets before the blackout. They will reboot, but I’ll take care of them before then.”
“All right, Genos and I are heading out,” he declared, reloading his rifle. “Good luck.”
“To you two as well,” Chiyo returned. “And if you don’t mind, close the door on your way out. Your fighting will be most distracting.”
Kaiden and the Tsuna sprinted through the halls, making their way toward the power core. “You sure it’s this way, Genos?”
“Positive. We’ll just need to—” The Tsuna stopped in his tracks and raised his laser rifle to fire down the hall. Kaiden lifted his gun and searched for what his companion was shooting at. Lowering it, he saw a machine on the ground with sparks flying from the body and a streak of melted metal through its chest.
He walked over and knelt, looking at the destroyed machine. It had the appearance of a bird with its wings out and a small head with some sort of band across the front. “What is this?” he asked.
“A tracker’s spotter droid. It has a remote link to its tracker, and they can see what it sees,” Genos explained. “They know we’re coming.”
The ace stood. “Then we best get to them before they come for—hurk.” Kaiden grunted and fell to the ground when a net enveloped his body and squeezed down on him.
“Kaiden!” the mechanist shouted. He dropped his laser rifle and stood in front of his teammate. A tracker dressed in dark green medium armor with a sloped helmet and dark circles for sight stood at the end of the hallway. He aimed his kinetic sniper rifle directly at Genos. The Tsuna raised his gauntlet, and it fanned out into a small shield as the tracker fired at his head. The gauntlet shielded him, but the shot knocked him down. He took out his hand cannon as he fell and fired at the attacker, hitting him in his left shoulder, so he stumbled and fired into the ceiling.
Kaiden flicked his wrist, and his blade appeared in his hand. He used it to cut through the net, yanked Debonair from its holster, and fired at the assailant as he tried to line up another shot. The lasers melted through the armor after several shots and the enemy collapsed. The body disappeared in bits of white light.
“Nice save, Genos,” the ace said, offering his teammate a hand to help him up.
“I should have been prepared.” The mechanist grunted as he took the proffered hand and hoisted himself up. “Trackers normally use scouts in closed environments as a distraction for an attack.”
“Don’t worry about it. I should have been more cautious.” The ace looked at the spot where the tracker was struck down. “But it worked out. We took out another one of those dicks, and they lose more points.”
“Perhaps, but it seems that bought them the time they needed,” his companion muttered, “They have the power core and are at six hundred and eighty-two points.”
“Damn it,” Kaiden cursed. “You think they will blow it?”
“Listen closely,” Genos commanded, pointing at the ceiling. “The fans are no longer blowing, and the heat is rising. They are either preparing to overheat the core for an explosion or are trying to fry all internal systems.”
“Both aren’t good, and would probably lead them to getting a victory.” Kaiden growled his annoyance as he picked up his rifle. “I need to get there asap. Where’s this place you need to get to?”
“Right there, at the end of the hall.” The Tsuna pointed to a set of double doors behind where the tracker had been.
“Oh… Well, good deal. You got it from here?”
Genos nodded. “I will try to be as quick as I can. Hold out for as long as you are able.”
The soldier raised his rifle. “I’m planning on doing a hell of a lot more than holding out.”
His teammate chuckled as he picked up his laser rifle and slung it over his back. “For once, Kaiden, I implore you to simply do what you’re best at.”
He smiled and raised a fist in front of him. “I would do that anyway, but the vote of confidence is nice.”
Genos looked at the fist and then at Kaiden. He raised a webbed hand and covered the front of his companion’s fist. The ace glanced at their hands and lowered his head, shaking it. “You know what, I’ll take it but we gotta work on things like this.”
Kaiden made his way to the power core station. He saw that the doors were wide open and looked inside. Two figures hovered near the console, looking at the core through a large window. He didn’t see a third figure—the sixth and final member of the enemy team. Without a doubt, it had to be a soldier of some sort, but he didn’t see one. He scanned the room, looking for a hidden marksman, but saw nothing. He shrugged as he raised his rifle and aimed at the head of one of the engineers—a pilot, by the looks of it.
“Bad draw, buddy.” Kaiden snickered. “No ships here, but you are about to have something flying at you quite quickly.”
He tensed when he heard a skittering sound above him. He looked up to see a machine with four spiked legs looking down at him with an elongated glowing eye. It shrieked a high-pitched static cry and lunged at him. The ace rolled out of the way and fired at it, nailing it once in the body before firing again and taking out its eye. It scurried around the floor, blind. He fired two more shots into it and it crashed into the floor, then exploded.
“Stupid creepy-ass spiders,” he hissed. Laser fire came from the door, and he backed up against the wall. “Well, there goes my shot of opportunity.” Kaiden growled his defiance.
He snapped around the wall and fired three shots. Fortunately, he clipped the other engineer—which he now knew was a decker, information which would have been helpful a minute before—in the back of his leg. He fell to the floor and his teammate ran over to him, helping him to cover as Kaiden fired several more shots, nailing the pilot in the back before he needed to reload.
“I’ve got you now, you sons of bit—” The ace could both hear and feel a heavy pounding through the floor. He looked behind him to see someone hurtling at him in heavy light-blue armor with a helmet that had two large spikes protruding from either side. He slapped a new magazine into the rifle and fired at the charging hostile. The bullets collided with the armor, which shimmered blue as the projectiles broke on impact. Kaiden leaped out of the way as the attacker slammed into the wall. The ace was knocked back by the resulting wave of force.
Kaiden flipped himself up and fired more shots. The attacker simply turned to face him as the bullets slammed harmlessly into her, and the armor shimmered with a blue light upon each impact.
“Oh, fuck me. A vanguard.” Kaiden cursed as he realized what he was facing. The vanguard ran up to him and drew her fist back. He ducked as she threw her punch, the same blue light encircling her fist as she smashed it into the wall. Once again, he was knocked away but managed to hold onto his rifle as he collided with the floor. He slid in front of the opening to the power core station.
With a quick upward glance,
he saw the decker hobble toward the core’s console once again. “Oh, no, you don’t, you spider-mech-making idiot!” Kaiden rolled onto his chest. He aimed at the decker and fired, nailing him in the shoulder and the side of his head. The enemy fell in front of the console but didn’t disappear. “Why won’t you die?” the ace bellowed in frustration.
His rifle was kicked out of his hands by the vanguard. She picked him up and held him up in the air. “Isn’t there some beta you should be coddling?” Kaiden sneered before snickering. “Although considering your buddies over there, I guess I should be more sympathetic.”
She tightened her hold and reached back, forming a fist. The ace yanked Debonair out and fired at her chest and helmet in six quick shots. The lasers broke her shielding and partially melted through her armor. “Up-close laser fire, your one weakness,” he jeered as she let him go and tried to avoid the blasts. “Got you now, you— Oh no.” His eyes widened as the vanguard whipped around and punched him straight in the chest.
The force of the impact knocked his breath out of his body and nearly caused him to vomit, but that also might have been because he was sailing across the room to slam into the console. He sat up and coughed as she advanced on him relentlessly. He looked over to see the pilot drawing his pistol and the decker, still clinging to life, unlatch his hand cannon from his holster with a shaking hand.
Kaiden smashed the bottom of his boot into the Decker’s face, and he dropped his gun. “Don’t try to be all high and mighty now. It shows you’re a sore loser,” he muttered. A shadow fell across him and he looked up to see the vanguard standing over him, both fists glowing. “You gonna hit me with the right hook or left hook first?” He chortled. She raised both fists in the air. “Oh, a double whammy—classic.” The ace looked around his adversary and smiled. “But you know what’s also classic? When the cavalry shows up. And by cavalry…” He pointed behind her as the pilot began to fire at something in the doorway. She turned to the entrance to see a dozen raider droids at the entrance, their Gatling guns priming to fire. “I mean a team of killer robots whose only mission in life is to waste your ass.”
Animus series Boxed Set Page 75