He landed on the ground, hit the trigger mechanism, and the small shaped charge blew. The rounds in the gun blew in the barrel and ripped itself apart. The mech seemed to stumble a few paces back, juddering slightly as if having some kind of electrical fault. It came to a standstill and raised its other arm to continue firing, but Lecia seized her opportunity. Her rifle was in hand, and with perfect aim she hit the exposed magazine of the second machine gun, blowing the box off the weapon. Corwin smiled for a moment in relief, but the monster merely rushed towards him. He stepped aside, but the mech seemed to pre-empt him by turning and swinging one of its arms in a back fist action.
Corwin's shield arm was smashed against his own body. He took the full force of the impact and was launched into the air. He covered two metres, landing and then sliding to a halt another metre further. The wind was knocked out of him for a second. He looked over to see Rane back on his feet and lift the hulking weapon off the ground and take aim. The mech turned and approached Corwin quickly, but Rane had it in his sights and opened fire.
The sound was deafening as all three barrels flashed with light, and the huge rounds smashed into the back of the mech, pushing it past Corwin as it tried to move into cover. Chunks of metal were torn from the suit and holes punched right through until its back was against the wall, spasming from the impacts. Rane's mouth was wide opened as he screamed at his target, but nobody could hear it over the gunfire.
The magazine finally ran empty, and the barrels were red hot. The mech slumped down onto its knees, but appeared to be still alive and moving. Rane approached and stood over his vanquished enemy. It tried to reach out from the ground with all the energy from whoever was inside still had. Rane raised the huge weapon up and smashed it down onto the mech's arm, and it crashed to the ground. Finally, he swung the weapon around his head, using all the weight and momentum to smash into the mech's head.
The impact smashed the badly damaged helmet in half and burrowed the burning hot barrels into the head of the human operator inside. Rane simply let go of the weapon and let it smash to the ground, turning to face Corwin with a smile. He looked so pleased with himself as the Sergeant got to his feet, he was more than happy to accept he was wrong.
Nylund and Tano appeared from the corridor where the mech had attacked them. Nylund was his usual perfectly kept self, looking as though he had not even broken into a sweat. He looked around surprised at the carnage.
"Great timing," stated Corwin sarcastically.
He turned and looked for Beyett, but could see no sign of him.
"Goddamn it, can't he just stay put for two seconds?"
"Sergeant!" he heard Beyett call from a nearby room. They followed the sound and Corwin stepped through into an observation room overlooking a vast industrial facility that spanned half a kilometre. A massively reinforced glass window stood between them and all that lay ahead, and they could already make out hundreds of staff at work on something. At the centre of the facility was a structure that looked like a round pool, but had neon blue light emitting from it.
"What the fuck is that?"
"As I said," replied Beyett, pointing down to plans on a screen. It meant nothing to Corwin. It was like trying to understand a foreign language he had never even seen before. Beyett was flicking through files filled with schematics and complex equations.
"You think this will work now?" Corwin asked.
"I can't say for sure. I never thought I'd see the day. But if there’s even a remote chance, wouldn't you take it if you were Villiers?"
"Chance to do it all over again? Hell, yes...How can we stop this?"
"From what I can see, everything is in there. Someone has to get up there and stop this manually."
"Someone? You mean you?"
Beyett nodded.
Corwin was surveying the vast scene for all potential paths in. He was shaking his head in disbelief.
"What is it?"
"Ever felt like you were just all out of time?"
Beyett shrugged. Corwin stepped back out of the room and found Vi, Frasi, and Chas had returned.
"We've shut down all exits. No one is getting out."
"That ain't our problem, anymore," replied Corwin, "No time to explain. All you need to know is Villiers has built himself a time machine, and our window to stop him from using it could close any minute."
"What the fuck? You're joking?"
"Fuck no, I wish I was. No time to plan this. Teams stay as before, except for Harland, you go with Beyett and go left. Vi, you're taking the right side. Rest of us, we're going down the middle. At all costs someone has to make it to that machine and stop it. Beyett can do it, anyone else, just hit it with everything you've got."
"That's the plan? That's it?" Nylund asked in amazement.
Corwin nodded and turned back to the control room where they had just been. He pulled out a charge, placed it in the centre of the window, and stepped back to the door.
"Ready?" he asked them all.
But he didn't wait for a response. He tapped the trigger button on his pad, and the charge ignited with a short and sharp blast. Inside a half-metre hole had been blown through the thick armoured glass. Cracks stretched out from the breach. He lifted his rifle and fired a burst all around the hole, and then just ran and jumped for the opening. He smashed through the glass with no finesse at all, but with great speed and power. He made several metres but then crashed down onto a panicked soldier, crushing him flat. The man struggled to get to his rifle, but it was jammed between the two of them. Corwin put a hand around the man's chin and snapped his neck. He was back on his feet in seconds and rushing onwards.
"Keep moving!" he screamed.
They were rushing through banks of five-metre high tanks resembling capacitors of some sort or another. Two soldiers stepped out ahead of them in a futile attempt to slow their advance, but it was useless. They got off just a few pointless shots before being riddled with bullets from Corwin and Porter. As the bodies fell, Corwin dropped his magazine and slammed in a new one without even breaking stride.
As the main team smashed their way down the centre of the vast facility, the more nimble an agile Vi, Frasi, and Chas leapt across the tops of industrial like structures of the right flank. They seemed to move effortlessly from one to another, and able to leap several metres as if they were doing little more than walking. They barely fired a shot as they made rapid progress, only engaging those directly in their way.
On the left flank, Nylund fought to keep at the head of their assault and seize the glory for himself; Harland was close behind. They took a corner to find three unarmed enemy staff members wearing lab coats. Nylund hesitated; his obsession with chivalrous intentions would not let him pull the trigger. But Harland had no such reservations and opened up on fully automatic, gunning them down in seconds. Nylund looked at him in horror, but there had been no time to stop him, and Harland showed no sign of remorse.
"They were unarmed," stated Nylund.
"They were the enemy. Wretches of this world."
Harland suddenly turned quickly and raised his rifle as if to shoot Nylund, who was shocked and too slow to respond. Three shots rang out, and Nylund saw an enemy soldier drop to the floor behind him.
"You worry too much about who you shouldn't kill, and not enough about those you should," Harland stated coldly, "You weren't born for this. You never had the stomach for it."
Nylund looked to Tano and Beyett for some assurance, but he didn't get it. Harland's sadistic character only proved to entertain the meddling and always devious Tano, and Beyett was too single-mindedly focused on their mission to let anything get in the way.
"Come on, we have a job to do," added Beyett.
Harland quickly led the way, and Nylund sheepishly followed.
"Just think of the things we could achieve with this machine," said Tano.
"Nobody should meddle with time travel, ever. We have no understanding of the power or effects that a single change of events could
have. This must be shut down and destroyed forever."
Tano looked disappointed and frustrated by the prospect, and Beyett could see in his eyes his mind and imagination going wild with ideas.
"Don't play with fire," added Beyett.
"Why on earth not, it is fun, is it not?"
Beyett could see he wasn't joking, and that worried him, but there was nothing he could do or say at this stage. Gunfire suddenly hit all around them, and they rushed to the sidewalls for cover. It was coming from above, and Harland could see two soldiers firing at them from a well-protected gantry. He smiled as he took aim with his rifle and flicked it over to the under slung high explosive grenade launcher. He squeezed the trigger without any hesitation, and the low velocity grenade struck the underside of the gantry. It ignited with a violent blast, and part of the structure collapsed. The surviving soldier was thrown out as a large piece of the flooring dropped towards them.
Harland looked down just in time to see the piece of walkway smash into the structure above Beyett and then topple and collapse onto him before he could give any warning. The wounded man smashed into the ground beside the wreckage, and both of his legs broke on impact. He was screaming in agony, but Harland simply fired two shots into his head before rushing to the wreckage covering Beyett.
"Fuck sake, Harland, you're a goddamn loose cannon."
But Harland said nothing. He took hold of the section of gantry and yanked it away. The hulking piece of metal was thrown aside with little resistance and smashed into the base of the opposing side of the walkway not far from Tano. He looked unbothered by the entire situation and smirked just a little, realising Beyett was out of action; and that presented an interesting opportunity for him.
Nylund knelt down beside Beyett. His helmet was almost cracked in half, and blood was streaming down his head. There was also a deep wound in his upper right arm. He felt for a pulse and was relieved to find he was still alive. He pulled out a small spray can and sprayed it over the wound on the arm. It was immediately sealed. He went to remove the helmet but was interrupted.
"Keep moving."
"He needs help," pleaded Nylund.
"We all need help, but sometimes you just have to help yourself. Let's go."
Nylund shook his head and hauled the unconscious Beyett onto his shoulder. Harland shook his head in distain; he wanted every one of them at their full combat potential, but he wasn't willing to fight it.
* * *
Corwin reached a sealed doorway and could see the glimmer of a shield rising up to the ceiling above it.
"Only way is through," he muttered to himself.
He placed charges at the four corners where the locking mechanisms were, stepping back a few places and hitting the ignition. The controlled charges worked perfectly, and the door buckled slightly on its mountings. He went right back to it and hauled it open with all his strength. To his surprise he found himself looking at the armoured abdominals of a monster of a man. He was almost as tall as the ceiling of the hallway. Before he could react, the man grabbed him by his body armour and launched him into the corridor.
Lecia lifted her rifle to take a shot, but the man hit a button inside the corridor, and a blast door slammed shut between them. Her shot ricocheted from the entrance.
"Wyatt," she screamed in desperation.
Corwin was flying through the air as if he had been launched out of a cannon. He flew several metres at such high velocity, and in shock, that he could not land safely. He tumbled to the ground and landed on his rifle, breaking it clean in half. He tried to get back to his feet as quickly as possible, drawing his side arm as he did so, but he felt his attacker grab the barrel and deliver a vicious knee into his stomach. It launched him back against the bulkhead. The power of the strike meant he couldn't hold on to his weapon, but he at least managed to stay on his feet.
He quickly carried on to move out through an opening to get some space. He was in some sort of laboratory now. Complex mechanical equipment that he did not recognise lay all about. His attacker stepped out from the dark corridor into the well-lit room, and he instantly recognised the hulking man.
Robak, he thought as he felt his pulse race.
He'd only ever seen photos of the behemoth of a man, the only survivor of Villiers’ attempts to create super soldiers to battle the A.P.E.S. It had been too little, too late. Nonetheless, he stood a metre taller than Corwin and would even dwarf Rane by some measure.
"You're one big fucker," he said as calmly as he could and began circling his huge opponent. His muscles were vast and bulging in every direction. He looked so freakishly huge it was beyond belief. To the level that much of his uniform was unintentionally skin tight. He wore thin body armour that flexed and moved with his body, the likes Corwin could only dream of. Robak had no hair on his head at all, and the muscles on his neck were broader than the width of his head.
"You know how many of you apes I've crushed with these hands?" he asked, clenching his fists.
His voice was incredibly deep and powerful, and it was clear he enjoyed killing his enemies in a personal and physical manner. Corwin wasn't used to being thrown around by anyone except Rane in their training sessions, for the enemy soldiers never presented a challenge to him physically.
"You will never leave this room alive," said Robak.
But Corwin smiled, knowing it would infuriate the brutish man.
"You're too ugly to win this."
Robak rushed at him with a surprised turn of speed. As he did so, Corwin drew out his knife and spun out from Robak's charge, thrusting his blade into his flank. The blade drove deep but became stuck, and Corwin lost his grip as he passed by. Robak snapped around to face him and drew out the blade from his own body. Blood seeped from the wound, and yet he seemed completely unaffected by it. He threw the blade aside and smiled in defiance.
"I'm going to enjoy ending your life."
"Bring it on," said Corwin.
* * *
"Come on, we have to get this open!" Lecia pleaded.
It was the only time any of them had seen her genuinely concerned for anything or anyone. Porter set charges all around the door and blew them. Holes were ripped out of the heavy steel structure, but there seemed little hope of getting through. Rane returned carrying a huge steel bar. He drove it into one of the holes of the door where it met the frame and prised it in like a crowbar. He pushed his huge weight and all of his strength against the bar and got just the slightest of movement, but it was enough to give them hope.
"Help me!" he growled, all the muscles in his body straining under the load. Porter and Hunter got on board and gave it everything they could. Finally, a crack was appearing.
"Just a little more!" Lecia yelled.
Rane screamed as he gave it everything he could. The gap didn't look big enough for any human to get through, but Lecia threw down her rifle and slipped through just as Rane lost his grip, and the door slammed shut. None of them knew whether she had made it or had been crushed alive; all they could do was wait and hope. A few seconds past, and there was nothing, then suddenly the door began to open and got just a half metre before jamming. Rane jumped to the gap and heaved it open another half metre, stepping through to see Lecia was already rushing onwards without them.
"Wait!" he called out, running after her with the others close behind. Hunter was carrying Lecia's rifle. She was sprinting to Corwin's side with nothing more than her pistol in hand. She reached the laboratory where the fight had started, and it was a wreck. Chairs, tables, and machinery were scattered all over the place. She stopped and tried to see a sign of Corwin, and that gave the others time to catch up.
Then they heard the sound of something or someone stomping their way through the debris behind a rack of equipment. They raised their rifles, and Corwin flew out from behind the racks and landed hard, rolling before crashing into a wall. Robak stomped into view and stopped as he noticed them. Lecia pulled the trigger first and got off two shots, but his armour abs
orbed both. The others were quick to join in, and Porter managed to clip him once before he vanished from sight. They rushed to his position, but there was no sign of him.
Lecia went immediately to Corwin. He looked dazed and had cuts and swelling all about his face. His knuckles were raw, and he was groaning in pain.
"What the fuck was that?" Hunter asked.
"Robak," muttered Corwin.
Rane's eyes went wide in amazement.
"Robak? He is still alive? And here?"
Corwin nodded. Rane helped him to his feet, and Hunter handed him his bloodied knife. He took it with appreciation, along with the kid's side arm. The floor began shaking beneath them, and they could hear some kind of power source firing up.
"That doesn't sound good," said Rane.
"We don't have long now," replied Corwin. He let go, stood on his own two feet, and carried on. They went through another room much like the first, and it opened out into a huge circular room with the machine at its centre. Villiers stood at the centre of the stage in the middle of the room with a dozen of his henchmen. A wall of light encased them and rose to the ceiling, and appeared much like the shields Corwin and his teams used.
Lecia raised her rifle and took one quick shot towards Villiers’ head, just as she said she always would, given the chance. It was the first time any of them had ever seen him in the flesh, but an energy field absorbed the shot. Rane and Porter fired a few more for good measure, but to no greater effect.
"What do we do?" Hunter asked.
Corwin had no idea, and he looked around for answers, only to see Harland step into view. It was a great relief, until Nylund appeared with the unconscious Beyett on his shoulder. He shook his head; there was no point in asking what had happened. It didn't matter anymore.
"Oh, fuck," said Rane, knowing how much trouble they were in.
Time War: Invasion Page 3