by Isaac Hooke
Bokerov sighed. “As you wish. But why do you always get to have all the fun?”
“We have the mechs,” Jason said. He untied Shaggy. “Let loose the dogs of war!”
I’ve always wanted to say that.
As Jason ran into the no man’s land between the eaves of the forest and the gap in the wall, he considered given the order to combine, but that would just make his War Forgers a bigger target for the defense turrets fired from the wall, and the enemy flyers. Plus it would make passing through the gap more difficult—they’d have to sidestep past, leaving them vulnerable until through.
Shaggy ran at his side. The Rex Wolf moved at a sprint, forcing Jason to up his servomotors to match his speed. He was operating in Bullet Time of course.
Aria was directly in front of him, and she had deployed her shield to protect herself from the incoming fire. The others formed up in a line behind Jason.
The other War Forgers used similarly formations.
The Modlenth mechs, half the size of Jason’s War Forgers, crossed the field in one big square formation. That formation wasn’t particularly synchronized, and there were gaps throughout as some of the units tripped, or fell from the incoming fire. The Modlenth flyers swooped low, moving inward toward the missing slice of the energy dome. The airships also accelerated forward, firing the whole time.
As Jason and his War Forgers closed with the wall, their flanks were exposed to the turrets on the far left and right sides of the wall ahead, not to mention to the flyers overhead.
Sophie adjusted her speed and activated her shield as necessary to deflect any bolts that came in from the sides. Maeran backed her up, redirecting her three drones to form shields with their connected energy beams.
Jason opened fire at some of those turrets that were within his line of sight. Shields no longer flashed into place—most had already been worn down—and he was able to take down a few. He also occasionally fired at the flyers overhead, but wasn’t able to penetrate their armor, at least not with his laser.
His War Forgers reached the breach and flooded inside ahead of the Modlenth mechs; they leaped over the dead bodies of the bioweapons. The street beyond was made of that translucent material layered over a gold substrate.
The Arias formed a defensive half-circle in front of him, interlocking their shields side by side. The rest of the War Forgers and their clones huddled behind those shields, which were turning red on the inside as the units took heavy fire.
The Modlenth poured in from behind; some of the half-size mechs took cover behind the War Forgers, others immediately fanned out, firing at targets Jason hadn’t yet seen.
In the air behind him, the airships weren’t able to fit through the thin sliver that had been cut in the energy field, so they remained in place there, simply firing through the opening. The airships also targeted the different repair drones that were attempting to restore the gap at the base of the dome.
Jason hadn’t deployed his Explorer—he was too worried about it getting shot down. However, Jhagan had given Jason read access to the camera feeds of the flyers, so Jason tapped into one that was darting overhead as part of the strike force. The video image moved back and forth as the flyer zig-zagged to evade the incoming fire, but he simply accelerated his time sense to the max to get a freeze frame, allowing him a bird’s eye view of the area beyond the breach.
On the opposite side of the street, the buildings began: large, gold, triangular things. Those buildings were about two stories tall here on the outskirts of the city—just a little taller than the mechs—and grew successfully taller toward the city center, just like in the Modlenth city.
The War Forgers resided in the middle of the street beyond the breech. Between the buildings across from them, and behind them, were a series of Phaser mechs. There were also hundreds of elliptical flyers, positioned at various points in the sky. Both air and ground troops were unleashing a steady barrage of weapons fire, battering the shields the Arias held.
Suspended in midair he saw a missile, moving toward the central Aria: his.
“Aria,” Jason transmitted. “You got a missile headed straight toward you.”
“I see it,” Aria replied, her timebase automatically syncing with his own. “I’m going to have to pivot out of the way, ladies. So, if you don’t want to get hit by that missile, I suggest you do the same.”
“Are you sure it’s not a seeker?” Tara said.
“I guess we’ll find out shortly,” Aria said. “I’m launching my Battle Cloak, too.”
14
Jason amped up his servomotor output and switched his time sense to something more manageable; time was still slowed, but at least he was no longer frozen. The missile was also incoming a whole lot faster.
Aria fired her Battle Cloak, and tiny seekers erupted from the nozzles that circled her mech. The missile didn’t change course to target the tiny objects, which were actively swerving to intercept the missile.
“Don’t think it’s a seeker,” Aria said.
She leaped into the air, lifting her shield and spinning her torso out of the way at the same time. Jason meanwhile swiveled his hips to the side, toward Jerry, who was making room for him; the missile traveled underneath Aria, and passed where Jason was just standing. One of the Battle Cloak seekers struck the missile then, and the device detonated.
A black blob expanded outward from the impact site, reaching toward Jason and the others.
“Ah shit, it’s one of those,” Aria said.
Jason was still dodging outward in Bullet Time. Behind him, Lori and the others were also doing their best to get out of the way.
Jason promptly hit another mech—Jerry, who was trapped in turn by John beside him.
“John, we need some legroom here!” Jerry said.
John gave up some space, and Aria 2 moved with him so that he remained protected by her shield, but that meant said shield was no longer joined to Aria 5 immediately beside her. Aria 5 was also on the move, to keep Jerry protected.
Aria was falling straight back down, directly into the path of the expanding blob. Jason reached out and grabbed her foot, yanking her along with him as he continued into the space that Jerry freed up.
That black blob expanded outward, and part of Aria’s left arm was struck by the substance as she fell, but Jason pulled her free from most of it.
She hit the street, and Jason still dragged her, causing sparks to rise where her mech met the translucent top.
“That’s good,” Aria said.
The blob had ceased expanding, and now simply hovered in place, searching for targets.
During that time, Jason and Aria were still pummeled by plasma and energy bolts, and their armor had taken damage. Everything was still working however.
For now.
Jason increased time a little and Aria clambered to her feet, restoring the shield to its previous position. The black blob meanwhile floated toward her.
“Time to assume defense positions behind the nearby buildings!” Jason said. “Aria, take the Originals to this building.” Jason marked off one of the structures next to the street. “Other clones, choose your targets!”
“Can I come in, yet?” Bokerov sent.
“Not yet,” Jason replied.
Aria dashed forward, heading toward the building Jason had marked off. Jason stayed close behind her, along with the other members of the Originals; they moved at a crouch.
Jason fired past the edges of the shield, striking a Phaser with his railgun, and then following up with an energy attack as it phased back in.
He’d lost sight of the Rex Wolves, but then a growling up ahead alerted him to Shaggy’s position: the Rex Wolf had a flyer in its mouth, pinned to the ground as it worried the craft. The elliptical fuselage abruptly caved, crushing the shell.
Nearby, Bruiser had an Imperial mech pinned—apparently this one hadn’t phased out.
“Not all of them are Phasers,” Aria said.
“I noticed,”
Jason said.
Jason scanned for the other Rex Wolves, but had to duck as a plasma bolt nearly nailed him in the head. He stayed low, keeping behind Aria’s shield from then on. The Wolves were on their own for the moment.
Behind him, in the middle of the street, another missile exploded. The black goo enveloped two Modlenth mechs, and they toppled to the street, their black forms shattering entirely upon impact.
“Um, there are enemies clogging the streets on either side of the buildings ahead!” Aria said. “It won’t be much cover.”
“Clear them!” Jason said.
Cheyanne threw her two blades forward. One blade struck an Imperial mech, the other a Phaser; the latter unit phased out, and her sword embedded into the surprised Phaser just behind it. She recalled the blades, and they returned to her metal palms while she was still on the move.
“Cover me,” Cheyanne said. She moved her wings in a blur, and arced upward from the rear of the column. Enemy fire began to follow her.
But then Xin immediately flared her hull, and leaped forward, spinning like a drill toward the enemy.
Aria fired her lightning bolt weapon over her shield.
Tara teleported forward; she stabbed a Phaser and it immediately vanished from this reality, she swung her sword to the side, striking an Imperial mech and taking it down, then withdrew the sword and plunged it into the Phaser’s cockpit just as the mech rematerialized. She moved through the enemy chopping away.
Sophie launched her micro machines, Maeran her drones. Iris struck out with her energy whips. Lori had become invisible, and according to the overhead map, it looked like she was trying to sneak behind enemy lines.
Xin plowed into the closest Imperial mechs, melting portions of their hulls. Some phased out.
Cheyanne landed among the tangos who were firing from between the two buildings up ahead, and she began rotating like a spinning top, her swords chopping into every enemy around her. Using her invisibility, Lori pushed unready mechs into those swords; she also fired the plasma bolt from her tail at any tangos that attempted to target the relatively exposed Cheyanne.
Other mechs and flyers continued to target Aria and her shield, which was almost dissolved as she took cover behind the triangular building. The other Originals had cleared out the closest enemy mechs that had been firing from between the structures, allowing Jason and the others to deploy behind the buildings and use them as cover in turn.
Jason glanced at the other nearby buildings and saw that the War Forger clones had similarly removed the closest enemies, allowing them to take similar cover behind the golden structures lining the street. The Modlenth mechs were with them, and were slowly pushing forward. As far as Jason could tell, all of the Modlenth flyers had been shot down. There were still some airships firing from the opening in the energy dome, however.
Jason gazed past the edge of his current building, toward the city center. There were enemy mechs hiding behind the different triangular buildings up ahead. The Phasers unleashed lightning bolts from their swords, and other Imperial mechs launched energy bolts and blob missiles from mounts on their forearms.
On the empty streets between the buildings, he could see the bodies of the dead bioweapons that had been mowed down as they tried to race deeper into the city.
Overhead, the enemy flyers continued to unleash hell down at the group. Their numbers hadn’t really been reduced all that much. Jason had to duck as energy bolts came at him from a couple of those flyers, and the edge of the triangular structure dissolved beside him.
“We have to take down some of those flyers!” Jason said.
“Maybe Cheyanne can fly up there and do her spinning top thingy,” Lori suggested.
“Are you kidding?” Cheyanne said. “I’ll be shot down before I even get close.”
The Sophies launched their micro machines, and had them move evasively to avoid taking fire as much as possible. The micro machines struck the different flyers, and rotated like a saw, slowly cutting through the fuselages. It usually only took a few seconds to penetrate, at which point the flyer would fall from the sky.
Meanwhile Jason and the others unloaded at the craft, dropping as many as they could. When they hit the street below, they often struck other enemy mechs that were lying in wait.
“When can I come inside?” Bokerov said. “Why do you always get to have all the fun? And have you forgotten that the space navy is going to arrive any minute now?”
“It hasn’t been half an hour yet…” Jason said.
“No,” Bokerov said. “But that estimate could be wrong.”
“Eliminate as many turrets as you can along the wall over the next five minutes,” Jason said. “I’ll send you an update, then. We’re trying to clear you a path in here.”
“But I don’t want a path cleared!” Bokerov said. “I want to be the one clearing the path!”
“You’ll get your chance soon enough,” Jason said.
He ducked as several more bolts struck his position, and lost more of the triangular building.
“Should we combine?” Julian said.
“Not yet,” Jason said. “With all those flyers still out there, we’ll just make ourselves more vulnerable. Jhagan, where the hell’s the diversionary attack?”
“Coming,” Jhagan said.
“He sounds like a waiter at a restaurant,” Cheyanne said. “When you ask where the food is, while you’re starving meanwhile!”
“Except this time we’re not starving,” Tara said. “We’re fighting for our fucking lives!”
“That’s my point!” Cheyanne said.
And then most of the enemy flyers abruptly turned around and fled to the east. According to the overhead map, they weren’t headed toward the city center, but rather making a beeline to the far side of the city.
“Well look at that,” Jerry said. “The princess finally decided to send in the second strike force.”
“They overcommitted air troops to this side,” Jhagan said. “It’s an easy mistake to make. But reports are coming in from the second battalion that there are just as many mechs, if not more, gathering beyond the eastern energy dome, where they’ve begun the second assault.”
Jason nodded. That made sense, because none of the enemy group troops had broken from their current positions.
“Bokerov, now you can come,” Jason said.
The next few minutes were spent trying to push forward; both attackers and defenders were essentially pinned in place. Sometimes the Phasers used their abilities to reposition on the far side of the building, or when Tara regained enough charge, she teleported, but otherwise, there was very little troop movement.
And then the tanks and Cataphracts arrived. The tanks poured through the opening, moving into position next to the triangular buildings and firing out into the streets beyond, further pinning the enemy units.
The Cataphracts, meanwhile, had to slowly squeeze through the thin opening, sidestepping. Since the units were so big that they overtopped the outlying buildings, Jason and the others had to provide covering fire.
Once they were through, the big guys began unleashing hell.
“Watch and learn, combiners!” Bokerov said.
The Axeman swung down with that huge axe of his, biting through buildings and the mechs hidden behind them. The Lizardman fired a huge energy beam from its mouth that cut through the triangular structures and toppled them. The Octopus ripped buildings away with its tentacles, revealing the enemies beyond. The Cobra struck out at those enemies, crunching down on them with its mouth. The Rifleman launched the huge energy cannon he carried in his arms. The Caterpillar latched onto opponents and cut through them with the powerful laser cutter built into its maw.
“You know, we can probably join in the fun now that the flyers are gone…” Jerry said.
“You’re starting to sound like Bokerov,” John said.
“You’re asking to combine?” Jason asked.
“I am,” Jerry replied.
“Go ahead, clones,” Jason said.
The different clones began to race toward their respective Arias as the male Mind Refurbs initiated the combine process.
Jason was about to initiate his own transform when Lori’s status indicator turned a dark red. He glanced toward her position. She had been sneaking behind enemies lines, still invisible, but one of the Phasers had caught her apparently, because its sword was protruding from her chest assembly.
It had stabbed the weapon right through her torso, and into her battery area, deactivating her, and returning her to the visual band. Meanwhile her body was seizuring as electrical currents sparked up and down her hull.
The Phaser withdrew the sword and Lori’s mech dropped to its knees, inactive, motionless. The Phaser drew back the sword to attempt another strike—this time the blade was lined up with her AI core.
If that sword struck, everything that made Lori who she was would cease to exist.
15
“Lori!” Jason said.
He had already lined his weapon up with her attacker, and he unleashed an energy bolt.
The Phaser responded by winking out of existence. Jason dashed into the street, knowing full well he was putting himself into harm’s way, and yet not giving a damn.
When one second had passed since his last shot, he fired another energy bolt, and it struck the Phaser two hundred and fifty milliseconds later, just as it phased back into existence. The bolt disintegrated half the sword, and plowed into the mech’s body, carving a big blast hole that sent the Phaser offline. It toppled to its knees beside Lori.
Other mechs hidden behind the buildings on either side were opening fire at Jason, but he continued racing past in Bullet Time. The other War Forgers did their best to offer him covering fire, as did the Cataphracts, but he still took a couple of good hits: one bolt plowed into his side, nearly eating through his armor all the way to his main battery. Another struck his swivel mount, disabling the laser.