Cold Snap

by Macky Santiago

  A hand grips my shoulder from behind. I put my other hand over Mila’s hand for a second, before I pull away and start arming myself.

  “I do not like the look of those Huntsmen.” She says as she loads her rifle.

  “We can take ‘em.” Mick says as he equips all the ordnance we were given.

  “They should prepare for their demise.” Iñigo says, testing out his lumenblades. They had still given him four, though he only had two arms in this body.

  “How are we doing on energy levels?” I ask. “You especially, Jean Philippe.”

  “I think I can manage. As will everyone else.” Jean Philippe says.

  “And the princesses?” I ask.

  “They’re on the way to the Hangar. I still have eyes on them.” Bellona pipes up.

  In my peripheral vision, I see the guards file out. They're effectively leaving us alone with the Huntsmen in the training yard.

  “With any luck, Agent Zero is on his way to save the day.” I say flippantly, strapping on the last of the weapons providence has granted us. I then draw both of my hand blasters. I add in a more serious tone, "We need to wrap this up. Fast.”

  With everyone geared up, we turn to face the Huntsmen.

  “I sincerely hope you all manage some form of dignity in these …” The Queen begins to say patronizingly. She doesn't get the chance to finish her sentence.

  In a split second, Iñigo has buried two of his lumenblades into the chest and temple of the Huntsman on the rightmost end of their little chorus line of death.

  At the exact same time, Mila fired four concentrated bolts of mini-explosive rounds into the huntsman on the far left, blowing up its head and chest cavity.

  Bellona links up with the Doctor, Leon, Jean Philippe and Mick. As Mila and Iñigo both mount a second strike, the rest of us take shelter under Leon’s protective field.

  I sense it before the others do. The Huntsmen that are left standing power up. This probably means some kind of energy blast is coming.

  Immediately, I send a surge of warning through the neuroweave for Iñigo to retreat and for Mila to stand down.

  A pulse emanates from the Huntsmen, and I know I have to do what I can to get Iñigo to safety.

  “Link Tag Protocol Activate.” I say under my breath as I link up with Leon and Iñigo.

  I use the momentum from Iñigo’s assault to have him slingshot back towards us, while simultaneously extending Leon’s protective field to meet him halfway. Iñigo pivots to face the radial blast from the Huntsmen and Leon opens up the protective field wide enough to let him through.

  As the shockwave connects, Iñigo and I instinctively raise both his lumenblades up for protection. His blades crack upon impact. Not good.

  I de-link from Iñigo and pull Bellona in so that she and Leon can throw a barrier up right where the shockwave and the blades meet.

  The resulting clash of energies sends Iñigo wildly hurtling backwards towards us. Thankfully, he lands on his feet, using the blades on his soles to skid safely to one side.

  Bellona amplifies Leon’s capacity to concentrate power at every point on his shield that the shockwave hits.

  I feel it in the air and through Bellona - the energy levels are massive. We don’t have the raw power necessary to push back against this wave, not with the crew skinned up like this, armed only with their auxiliary gear. We need to dissipate this pulse or we'll be overwhelmed by it.

  Bell’s calculations are complete in nanoseconds. Together, she, Leon and I send out a counterpulse that dissipates the shockwave completely.

  Our victory is short-lived. The fallen Huntsmen start to rise and repair themselves since, apparently, Octavia has baked some kind of nano-tech reconstruction into her new toys.

  “Five hells.” Doctor Capaldi says. He had only just begun his research into nano-based quick healing of severely damaged non-organic material a few weeks ago. Confirming my fears that we were outclassed on some levels. Hopefully not all.

  “Jean Philippe?” I prompt.

  “They’re shut tight. Infinite revolving combinations. I can maybe crack the first layer in…” Jean Philippe explains, but Bellona interjects.

  “Three years, at this rate. We can’t get a clear hack, Yuki.”

  “What naughty children, playing before mother says you can. Observe how obedient my Huntsmen are. Their only directive was to defend themselves when on the brink of certain incapacitation.” The Queen says, her voice echoing through the speakers around the training yard. “Now, watch and see what good little children do for mother."

  There’s a pause before she issues a series of commands. “Numbers one, two, three and four, subdue all eight subjects. Cripple and maim if needs be, but ensure the following parts are intact and ready for extraction: memory units of the seven assault robots, cranial nerves and cells of human female.”

  At her words, the Huntsmen charge toward us with frightening speed. They are formidable, and intimidating with all the shiny toys they appear to be equipped with. Energy weapons, something that looks like an upgraded version of Iñigo’s lumenblades. Pulse particle explosives. Smaller energy production with a bigger bang, the kind of tech I've been wanting to get Mick for months.

  “Ring-a-levio! Let’s play!” I yell, triggering one of our favorite battle protocols. Leon casts the safe zone perimeter around himself, Mila, Bellona and the Doctor. Mick, Iñigo, Jean Philippe and I, on the other hand, face off against the four Huntsmen.

  The four of us take our shots when we can, before fading back into Leon’s protective field. We dodge, and weave, and strike. We stave off every blast and every counter-strike from the Huntsmen. As the shields open and close to allow us in and out, Mila fires shots at the targets left open in their pursuit of us. Anyone that gets nicked or dinged is healed by Doc in the few seconds we spend sheltered in the safe zone.

  It’s an old game that infuriates most people we tangle with. Strike. Duck back into the safe zone. Launch our attacks again, with Mila as cover fire to make sure our offensive and defensive capabilities are balanced.

  But the Huntsmen hold their own. It takes far too long for me to realize that they’re studying us and exploiting our patterns. They're maneuvering us in order to keep hammering away at exactly the same spot on Leon’s protective field, clearly in an attempt to weaken it or use it as part of whatever battle strategy they're cooking up.

  I figure it out another beat later. Because they are targeting the same spot, Leon is forced to divert power away from the rest of the shell. As the Huntsmen begin to dodge better and anticipate the shots Mila fires, I don't even need Bellona to confirm that it's time to switch strategies.

  “Captain…” Bellona warns. “They’ll dismantle our tactics and overwhelm us soon. We need to put them down, fast.”

  "Bellona! Concurrent Protocol Activate: Hopscotch-Checkmate! Omega level 2! Let’s Play!” I yell.

  The neuroweave floods me completely, and I don’t know where I begin and where it ends. All I am sure of is that, unlike when I am consumed completely when linking with the whole crew, this protocol allows me to keep being myself while knowing exactly what everyone else is doing. It's basically like a hive mind, only this time Bellona’s the queen, not me.

  Immediately, I see a grid over the entire room. Each of our targets is lit up and assigned a number according to Bellona's tactical calculations.

  The moment the last target is lit, we all get into position.

  Leon, Bellona, Doctor Capaldi and Mila leave the safe zone as it dissipates. Everyone partners up for this next bit. I see their eyes and “faces” light up with the reddish tinge that signifies they are on full suppression mode, which is the mode for all omega level variants of our protocols.

  I smile. I don’t care if it’s a tell that my loves are on full murderbot mode. People usually don’t live long enough to tell the tale. The ones that do manage to escape our rampage? Well, they’re usually too busy dodging the blades and blasts to even remember the cr
imson tinge of death in their “eyes”. Or mine.

  “Full enemy suppression and stomp to home in five…” Bellona yells as she blocks and parries along with me, dodging whatever our target Huntsman throws our way.

  Leon lunges straight for Mick’s target and envelops it in a containment field. The field flares a bright silver, signifying it’s basically now up to the strength of a capital ship’s deflector shield. Without missing a beat, Mick jams every cannon and explosive disbursing weapon he has into the containment field and opens fire.

  The room rumbles with the sheer amount of heavy ordnance Mick unloaded onto the first Huntsman on our kill list. The explosion is punctuated by the Huntsman’s power core going up in flames. Bellona notes the extreme power spike Leon needed to contain the blast and how he probably only has enough energy to do that three more times. She broadcasts that in an instant and we all know we have the make the next few seconds count.

  Nothing new here.

  From the corner of my eye and through the neuroweave, I see/sense Iñigo and Mila issuing crippling strikes at their target while our first Huntsman smolders in a heap.

  “Four!” Bellona yells as Iñigo and Mila continue their assault. They're unmatched in their precision, shooting and cutting at the Huntsman's joints and moving parts. I wish I had the luxury of time to enjoy the spectacle of Iñigo darting in and out of the huntsman’s flailing attack range while weaving in and around Mila’s blaster fire.

  Just as the two other operational Huntsmen nearly overwhelm us, containment fields appear to shield me, Bellona, Jean Phillippe and Doctor Capaldi, saving us from some severe damage. This also gives the Doctor enough time to repair Jean Philippe’s arm, which was hanging at a terrible angle.

  It's like clockwork. Jean Philippe’s arm is repaired, while Mila and Iñigo deliver strike after strike in order to immobilize our second target. The Huntsman finally staggers long enough for Mick to position himself to deliver the killing blow, making both its head and torso explode.

  Before the blast can flash-fry us, Leon disables the shields around us and contains it. The explosion lights up the training grounds, the blast area flaring a silvery white.

  “Three!” Bellona yells as she and I rally, driving the Huntsman we were fighting back a few feet. We just need to hold this one off long enough for…

  Mick, Iñigo and Mila descend on the Huntsman, raining down a hailstorm of blades, blaster fire and explosives. I can’t help but grin as my murder-baby bots do what they’re good at. Bloody poetry in motion, that's what they are.

  I don’t see it, but I catch a quick flash of silver light in my periphery, accompanied by a loud bang. On faith, I know Leon has also contained that Huntsman’s fiery death.

  “Two!” Bellona yells again. My insides coil in anticipation. In the neuroweave, I can feel that target three has been neutralized (with much impunity). Now it’s time for the home stomp and checkmate.

  As the remaining Huntsman comes at me in a flurry of energy blades, I time it so I butterfly kick one of the blades away and retreat, giving Iñigo a chance to engage it in my place.

  In a fluid motion, Iñigo tosses Doctor Capaldi one of his lumenblades while he and Mila begin their immobilization attacks. Mila then tosses the Doctor one of her rifles and then proceeds to unload her blaster’s worth of energy clips into this last Huntsman.

  Jean Philippe joins the fray, coming in close and striking at critical points of weakness in the Huntsman’s armor and circuitry, while Mick hands the Doctor some of his smaller heavy rounds.

  As the crew immobilizes the last Huntsman, Leon casts his capital ship grade containment field around it. Leon's containment field is smaller and weaker this time, as we’re going to need that excess energy we don’t plan to contain.

  Without an ounce of hesitation, Mick and Mila blow the last Huntsman to all the five hells.

  As the Huntsman’s power-core hits critical levels, I break into a run, then leap over the barrier. I land on Leon’s shoulders and catch the modified weapon the Doctor throws me. Quickly, Leon clips his wrist shield generator to my ankle.

  “One!” Bellona yells before the Huntsman explodes.

  I feel Leon create an opening in the barrier as he activates the wrist shield propelling me two hundred feet through the air towards the control booth.

  When I'm about fifty feet away from the control booth, I link up with Mick and Jean Philippe. I borrow their ‘eyes’ so I can identify every place I need to shoot at in order to break through the protective glass on impact.

  Every target lights up on my HUD.

  “Checkmate!” I yell in unison with Bellona.

  I open fire on the booth using the explosive rounds first. Immediately, I de-link from Mick and Jean Philippe and link up with Mila and Bellona as we fire shot after calculated shot. The façade of the booth erupts in flames.

  I don’t need to see through the smoke, with Bell and Mila guiding my hands and eyes. We unload the last of the explosive rounds at every fracture point Jean Philippe and Mick picked out moments ago.

  Thirty feet away from the booth, I run out of explosive rounds. Whatever rounds are left in Mila’s surge rifle should be enough to punch through the dura-glass that hadn’t fully shattered after my first salvo.

  Bellona increases my precision a hundred-fold as I open fire with the surge rounds. I shoot through the dura-glass, nailing every fracture point still lit up on my HUD. I alternate between breaking the glass and returning fire at the soldiers shooting at me. My sensors tell me that I have managed to maim or kill most of them as they struggled to protect the Queen and themselves.

  I have standing orders from the Alliance forbidding me from assassinating her, but I have very little room for regret right now and absolutely no time to spare on an alternate plan. Murder in my heart, I fix my eyes on Octavia and raise my gun... only to discover I've run out of bullets.

  A feral cry tears through me as I slam through whatever’s left of the dura-glass and unsheathe Iñigo’s lumenblade from Mila’s rifle. In a flash, I register that the Queen still has a couple of guards left standing. I quickly take down these last two guards as they attempt to herd Octavia away from the broken view panels.

  I de-link from Mila and link up with Iñigo to finish the job.

  I cut down the first guard quickly, and I only recognize Admiral Tarr’haz when his body hits the floor.

  I raise my blade for a precise cutting blow at the last of Octavia's protectors. I realize a second too late that this guard isn't bleeding at all from the shots I fired. As the blade connects with its forearm, it is met with bone-jarring resistance, the hiss of lumeneit loud and foreboding. It isn't flesh under the charred remains of his uniform; it's Physicorum. Not good.

  I only have a split second to jump back and activate the shield generator at my ankle as the fifth Huntsman powers up for another energy blast.

  Before it fires, the Queen reaches for the insignia on her chest and taps it. The insignia glows briefly in my vision before I take the energy blast full on. The ankle shield sputters and breaks as I am thrown out of the control room with nigh deadly concussive force.

  I thank the higher powers that our tech is pretty damn good, as I black out for the second time that day.

  I barely even realize that I am plummeting thirty feet to the ground before darkness overcomes me.

  ◆◆◆

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