“It’s built like a high-end military outpost,” Chiyo noted.
“Probably so it can blend in better and raise less suspicion,” the other woman reasoned.
He used two fingers to drag the hologram in one direction to create another image, although this one seemed smaller than the other and didn’t have some of the additions the previous one did. “From the looks of things, it very much is a military outpost, albeit one that was written off several decades ago and bought by a private-sector corporation.”
“Private sector?” Chiyo questioned. “Does that mean we can trace the AO from the buyer?”
“Potentially, but that’s its own hurdle,” he admitted. “I’m sure the AO has innumerable proxy businesses and shell companies. Even if the one that bought it is active, they may merely be puppets. I’m sure there’s something we can discover but without proper sanction, our search would more likely be criminal activity than a proper investigation. Anything we found would be dismissed in a court.”
Cyra frowned. “So what does that mean for the mission? Are we risking our lives for nothing?”
Laurie shook his head. “Oh no. I certainly wouldn’t even allow you to go if that was the case. That’s a worry for the company itself. As for this doomsday storage box here…” He pointed at the fortress. “I can certainly assure you that what they are building is certainly not legal, and this is technically already in the grey area of mercenary work. Anything you find in there will be free game.”
“Which means that whoever is running it has all the more reason to make sure we don’t leave,” Chiyo added.
His face contorted into an expression somewhere between dark amusement and sadness. “I think that was already well established, by this point.”
Cyra looked at Chiyo, who now stared at the floor, her hand pressed against her mouth as thoughts raced through her mind. She finally looked at the professor. “Have you had a chance to tell Kaiden?”
“I tried—first thing when the files were cracked,” he confirmed and leaned back in his chair. “I can’t get hold of him. My messages are going through but he’s not answering.”
“That’s kind of odd.” His assistant folded her arms. “Do you think he’s in danger, Chiyo?”
“I hope not,” she replied quietly. “But I think it’s more likely he’s in discussions right now and needs to focus.”
“Friend Kaiden, I fear we may crash,” Genos warned calmly and alerted the ace, who currently stumbled around the bay.
“These guys have become awfully trigger-happy since last I saw them,” he roared when he finally snagged a railing above and managed to steady himself. “Pull up. Genos. I don’t think we’ll be able to make a safe landing.”
“I’ve come to that conclusion as well.” The pilot pulled on the throttle and hastily returned the vessel to a safe altitude. “Fortunately, we weren’t in range of their cannons.”
“Cannons? They have cannons now?” Kaiden asked, rather surprised. “They’ve made some upgrades.”
“I doubt this will make you abort,” the Tsuna said as he banked the ship to turn and gain a little distance from the droids below. “So I certainly hope you have a reasonable alternative?”
“Alternative? Sure. Reasonable? Maybe not, but practical, at least.”
“That is more than I could hope for and less than what I wished.” The ace sat in the co-pilot’s seat and began working on one of the screens. “What are you doing?”
“Looking for the access to— Ah-ha! I found the pod.” He pressed a few more buttons and switches. “Chief, gain control of the auto-pilot and keep the ship on low energy consumption. I hope this doesn’t take too long, but you never know.”
“On it,” he acknowledged. “But you do know there’s only one pod, right?”
“It should be big enough,” he reasoned, glanced at his companion, and smiled. “Hey, Genos, wanna cuddle?”
His friend blinked in absolute silence, then stared at him. “I’m…um, not sure. But I think I don’t.”
He rolled his eyes and caught the Tsuna by the back of his armor. “Too bad. Suit up and get ready for an invasion of personal space.”
Chapter Twelve
The teammates kicked against the door of their pod. It took several hard blows before the door was aligned and slid open. They crawled out—although Genos flopped rather than scrambled—and Kaiden stretched his neck and left shoulder with a grimace as he squinted to where the dropship flew away from their destination. “Make sure it doesn’t get too far away in case we have to make a quick getaway.”
“It’s not really like you to be so worried,” Chief commented. “Last time you were here, you acted like a bastard to those Halo guys. Now, it’s come back to bite you, huh?”
“To be fair, I didn’t think I would ever come back,” he admitted and grinned at Genos, who patted himself to confirm he was in good order and checked his cannon. “Are you okay there, Genos?”
“Better now. That was…claustrophobic,” his friend confessed and tapped his visor. “It appears that the enemy that fired on us is now approaching somewhat rapidly. Should we run or fight?”
“How about a little of both?” he suggested and drew Sire. “Let’s split up. The force will be about a dozen for each of us assuming they break off evenly. We’re on an open plain, so there won’t be much to trip over, and as long as we keep our distance, they won’t be able to surround us while we pick them off.”
“You don’t think they will send reinforcements?” Genos inquired.
“It’s possible but hopefully, they’ll have seen the ship fly off and assume we left. Still, these guys are techies so I’m sure they’ve picked up some signal of ours.”
The Tsuna primed his cannon. “I think destroying a squad of their mechanicals will make negotiations a little harder.”
“They gonna be impossible if we can’t even get to the front door,” he retorted.
His teammate nodded as he ascended the hill. “That’s a good point.”
Kaiden followed and studied a large group of Assault and Soldier droids—most created from mismatched parts—that clanked steadily toward them. He raised his rifle and peered through the scope. “It looks like they already have reinforcements. I count more than forty now.”
“They really don’t seem to want visitors.” Genos held the trigger of his cannon down. “It looks like we’re gonna have to be rather persistent.”
“Agreed.” He positioned Sire and held the trigger down to collect energy. They fired almost simultaneously when the droids were close enough to aim and their barrage struck the front line to destroy several and force a few back. Kaiden almost laughed when one of the more shoddy droids simply keeled over when a leg shattered. The teammates looked at one another and nodded. Genos broke left while Kaiden went right and they fired into the horde to get their attention. The advancing army separated and followed both parties.
The ace fired his weapon into a group of mechanicals. His shot tore through the chest of one and annihilated another behind it.
“I’m finally getting some endorphins pumping!” He cheered, charged another shot quickly, and fired again. This attack destroyed four droids at once but a few plasma shots narrowly missed his head.
“Make sure to keep the blood inside. It’s hard for the endorphins to revel without it,” Chief snarked.
“Right,” Kaiden acknowledged, released another two rounds, and sprinted through the valley. When he noticed a large stone, he made his way hastily to it, retrieved a thermal, and lobbed it behind him while he ducked into temporary cover. He vented his rifle. “Chief, how many left?”
“I have ten signatures left but can’t tell the state they’re in, though. Some might only have half a body considering they aren’t in the best of shape.”
“The Halos must have scraped together whatever they could. It wouldn’t surprise me if they’ve had to deal with police or other gangs trying to destroy them after that problem with the super-droid.” He s
hut the vent on his rifle as lasers began to punch through the rock above him. Cautiously, he circled and fired several shots, which eliminated three more droids. Chief’s assessment was almost spot on. Of the droids remaining, only two seemed to actually be anything close to a threat and he almost felt bad when he fired on them and simply tossed another thermal into the area where the rest tried to claw or hobble their way closer. They shattered from the blast, removing the last possible threat.
“That was kind of anti-climactic.” Kaiden sighed and vented his rifle again as he wandered the battlefield to examine some of the remaining parts. Honestly, he was a little impressed that they could make functioning droids out of what most people would consider scrap. At the same time, this certainly wasn’t the high-tech material and equipment the Halos were known to use and what made them such a powerhouse that even top companies tried to court members.
His comms activated with a small buzz as. “Kaiden, how do you fare?” Genos asked.
He straightened and chuckled. “Honestly, I’m wondering if that’s a joke. These droids are more like scarecrows to shoo away squatters and hikers than a real threat.”
“I think the same. They did a fairly good job of scuffing the ship, but maybe that was because they could shoot directly into the underside.”
“I’m sure they have some fancy mods or maybe good programming. The Halos have done well with a little,” he admitted as he kicked a half-exploded head. “Are you almost done? We can meet at the entrance to the junker town.”
“I should be…going to…” The Tsuna’s voice faded and static filled their comm link.
“Genos?” Kaiden asked and frowned as he wondered what was wrong. He was about to speak again when the ground shifted beneath him. He retreated hastily as the earth opened and clicks and snaps issued from within the chasm. A rush of air seemed to almost hiss at him and something peered over the edge of the yawning hole before it stood slowly to tower several feet above him. His eyes widened and mouth gaped as he stared at a large machine on four legs with a spherical body and what appeared to be two turrets above and a large cannon below.
“Genos, I’ll have to call you back,” he muttered reflexively, forgetting that his teammate might not actually hear him.
The machine activated and lights coursed over its frame as it took two steps forward and aimed the cannon in his direction. Sparks swirled in the barrel of what was obviously a Tesla cannon. That was not good.
Kaiden whipped out his barrier and managed to activate it a split-second before the cannon fired. He didn’t have time to set it and instead, held it like a shield against the blast that surged toward him. Lightning pounded into it and he was hurled back as his protection disintegrated. He continued to somersault down the small hummock he had stood on and finally stopped when it leveled out.
His visor wiped the dirt away automatically as he sat and coughed from the force of the impact to prompt his breathing again. He picked Sire up as he stood and charged a shot.
The massive droid barreled down on him from the rise and he glanced hastily around for something that might offer refuge. The wide plain-like surroundings that had given them the advantage before only offered rocks and a couple of trees. In an instant, it had flipped to a severe disadvantage.
“Good God, this got intense fast.”
“You should have simply enjoyed the knick-knacks,” Chief chided. “That looks like an old Dragoon model war machine. You might wanna leg it.”
“Do you have any bright ideas?” Kaiden asked as he looked back and fired. The plasma ball struck his target effectively but a barrier shimmered around it. “Shit. I guess the Halos still do have a few toys worth something.”
“You still have a good chance to beat this thing, though. That barrier is built to withstand electric attacks and explosions, but Sire has more punch. More plasma shots should break through. Then we can worry about the weapons or maybe do the job with a couple of thermals.”
“Gotcha. I’m on it.” He glanced at his belt and counted three thermal grenades. “Shit. What if Genos is dealing with one too?”
“The comm interference could be coming from this thing or the guys in the junker,” Chief pointed out. “Get rid of it and see if you can contact him. Right now, you gotta be a soldier and not a leader. You’ll only get killed if you don’t pay attention.”
He nodded. The Dragoon was surprisingly fast and caught up easily as he raced from any cover he could find to the next and fired on it all the while. It retaliated with its turrets while the cannon cooled. He could tell the lasers weren’t strong, but they fired so rapidly that his armor’s shielding would be gone very quickly if he were caught, and it would be his organs not long after.
Kaiden looked ahead as he leapt down another ravine. He had very few options left and reasoned that he would have to get under it. Of course, he needed to be quick. Its barrier was weakening, but if the cannon was able to fire before he made it through, he would be lucky if he only caught the residual force. Even that could be a death sentence if he couldn’t get up before the turrets fired again. He vented Sire once more.
“Chief, activate the battle suite.”
The EI nodded in the HUD. The words Battle Suite Engaged flash across his display before his vision changed swiftly. He seemed to perceive everything clearer, time felt expanded, and all other the sense of time slowed. When his perception settled, he took a deep breath, slammed the vent closed, and backed away to aim his rifle upward. The earth shuddered as the Dragoon lumbered closer.
He lunged from his defensive position onto the side of the narrow ravine and across. On the other side, he spun and fired a shot at almost point-blank range when the droid tilted to look into the crevasse. It turned out to be a smart choice as its cannon had already begun to glow. The shot exploded and catapulted him away, but it destroyed the mechanical’s barrier. It stumbled but righted itself quickly and rushed into the attack.
One of its legs raised to crush him, but he flung himself forward and into the shadow cast by the machine’s leg above him and rolled under the huge body. He yanked one of his thermals free, activated it as hastily he could, and pitched it into the cannon. It vanished from sight and he immediately sprinted out of the way. The Dragoon tried to crush him with its back legs an instant before the thermal detonated. When the cannon erupted, the mechanical almost flipped on its back from the force. Kaiden smiled and turned to fire.
His plan, however, proved less effective than he’d hoped against his relentless adversary. The moment it regained its balance, it thundered in pursuit and swiped at him in wide arcs that either barely missed him or he was able to dodge by a hair’s breadth. He retrieved another thermal but the turrets began to fire again and he was forced to weave and dance away from them. They weren’t as precise as they had been previously and he was able to avoid them fairly easily, even given the short distance between him and the droid. He couldn’t, unfortunately, earn himself a moment to stop and find an opening. Instead, he merely heaved it at his attacker and cursed when it was shot out of the air. Still, the machine recoiled from the explosion and the center separated to create a split in the middle that revealed a glowing blue orb.
“Get rid of it!” was Chief’s only order.
Kaiden holstered Sire on his back and bolted up to the Dragoon, vaulted onto it, and whipped Debonair from his gauntlet. He pressed the barrel against the orb and held the trigger down until the gun began to burn and even cause sparks to fizzle from his shields. Eventually, it overheated and the mechanical monster began to thrash wildly. The motion jolted his pistol, which fell, but he held on and gritted his teeth. He located the melted frame around the light, grasped an edge, and yanked hard, taking Chief’s advice literally. The orb was dragged out and he flung it aside. It was crushed by the machine’s flailing limbs before it slowed and teetered ominously. The ace jumped off and it hobbled around and fired sporadically.
“That was definitely a power core. It must have multiple,” Chief mut
tered.
“They must control some of the programs or what controls the machinery to keep it moving, walking around, and shaking,” he observed. The battle suite had been on for more than four minutes and needed to end this soon.
He ran toward the Dragoon, retrieved Debonair, and slid the weapon into its compartment. His plasma blade activated on command and he slid beneath the stumbling war machine
“Hobble the bastard.”
“That’s the plan,” he responded. The metal beast raised its leg and thrust it down violently. He almost felt like he was in slow motion and saw the angle of the strike and was able to guess how long before it reached him. At the perfect moment, he slid out of reach and kicked dust up but avoided the jagged metal. The claw on the massive foot landed behind him and sank into the dirt.
“Chief, what do I aim for?” he yelled.
“The yellow wires behind the top of the legs—onscreen!”
Kaiden hacked wildly at a few wires exposed by the fight and stabbed at connection points. He saw the wires highlighted by Chief in his display, hacked at the ones on the back legs, and sliced into the metal casing for good measure.
He grasped his last thermal, activated it, and left it behind when he rolled out and away. The Dragoon stumbled and collapsed, tried to balance itself on its two front legs for a moment, and finally crumpled in the dirt. One of the turrets turned to fire, but the explosion detonated beneath it. The body ruptured and caused a secondary explosion and the turret hung down, almost like the machine itself had admitted defeat.
The ace crawled back a few more yards before he stood and studied the mechanical. Its entire left side was destroyed and the remains of its legs strewn about the dusty field. Some of the lights were still active and the other turret shook and spun slowly to one side before it snapped in the other direction.
Raid (Animus Book 9) Page 7