*
Maloch walked slowly, purposefully, towards the outer edge of the oasis. He had already diverted all power to weapons and battle assessment, and every step seemed heavier than the last. He soon arrived at his destination and was greeted by a legion of malicious intent wrapped in flesh and bone. The beings before him stretched out their black wings, each covered in hundreds of midnight feathers. The crimson eyes that stared at him held nothing but hatred and rage, and their haunting cries filled the skies.
Compared the vultures that had tormented Alza earlier, the things before him seemed to defy nature, defy instinct, and defy logic itself. They were beings created for the sole purpose of destruction, and ordinarily, nothing was going to stand in their way.
However, Maloch was not ordinary by anyone's standards, and, although a normal re-mech placed in such a situation would undoubtedly judge it to be hopeless and run, Maloch raised his weapon nonetheless.
“Sonic cannon, activated. Acquiring targets. Targeting all hostiles in the immediate vicinity. Eighty-One Targets acquired. Formulating attack strategies. Strategy formulated. Wide-bore sonic cannon projectiles advised, however, increased attack area will result in weaker bursts. Implement plan? Implementing in three, two, one...”
The first blast from the sonic cannon caught three of the nearest creatures and removed them from the scene. This was soon followed by several more shots, which began to rapidly clear the skies. Like a giant bell being rung, the bursts of sound resonated and multiplied in number. The sound grew, shaking the nearby trees and sending hundreds of ripples coursing through the nearby lake. Every time the sound rang out, another bird disappeared. However, after a while, Maloch noticed a discrepancy. The creatures were returning, sometimes mere seconds after being hit. Soon, they were shaking off sonic blasts like they were nothing but a minor irritation, and, little by little, they drew closer to Maloch and his sleeping dependants.
Suddenly, one of the creatures dropped low and attacked at full speed. Maloch hit it with three sonic bursts but its momentum was enough so that it continued on and was able to score a direct hit. Its serrated talons ripped through his robust chest-plate, exposing his core.
It was a fatal injury, one that would have spelled the end for any normal re-mech. But, as it has been stated before and will be stated again, Maloch was no ordinary re-mech. Struggling to lift the cannon, he slumped to one knee. Ignoring the countless warning messages flashing urgently across his HUD, Maloch ordered his core to divert all remaining power to his right hand.
The strange birds were circling above, their glowing red eyes shining like malignant stars. As if commanded, they suddenly dove as one, aiming to destroy the interloper that stood in their way. At the same time, Maloch uttered three simple words, “Activate Sonic Shell.”
Maloch raised his right arm to the sky, maximising his range. A sound began to emanate from the sonic cannon, a mix between a high-pitched whine and a low rumbling that sent ripples through the sand. A bubble of highly compressed air and sound began to form around Maloch, expanding with every passing second. Inside, countless air currents and pressure waves formed and reformed, creating a storm of energy. The bubble grew, now reaching the plummeting birds. As it reached them, they stopped in mid-air, held in place by the force of the shell. As the sound built up inside the bubble, a strange thing happened.
It was as if the entire world had been muted. The birds, who had previously been cawing and screeching, grew silent. The sound of the wind in the trees, the roar of the sonic cannon, the groans from Maloch's body as it bordered on complete failure, everything faded away. It was as if all sound and air had been drawn into the bubble, and now it was the only reality worthy of sound. The bubble continued to expand, growing larger and larger, taking in all the ambient sound and air in the area. It swelled until it could hold no more. In the blink of an eye, it burst silently.
A moment later, a massive sonic-boom was heard. The trapped air and sound rapidly expanded outwards into a devastating maelstrom of wind and noise. The vile birds, along with almost everything else caught in the bursting shell, were vaporised instantly. The wall of expanding pressure destroyed everything in its wake, though those sleeping further inwards were protected by the surrounding trees.
Almost entirely drained of energy, Maloch began to shut down. He was kneeling in a crater in the sand, at least fifteen feet in diameter. As for the strange creatures that had attacked him, nothing remained. Slowly, Maloch stood, only one thought racing through his mind, “Are the others okay?”
He tried to climb the steep crater wall, but slid down in a flurry of sand and debris. In a desperate gamble for more power, he commanded, “Shut down all right arm facilities.”
Immediately, his arm fell uselessly to his side. With his salvaged power, he attempted the steep climb once more, this time with much more favourable results. At the rim of the crater lay the remains of a giant palm, brought down by the combined force of pressurized air and sound.
It created an obstacle in his route forward, so he was forced to remove it. However, his power was no longer enough, so he was forced to disable another power-draining limb. The sacrifice this time was his left leg, which was to be dragged behind him like a dead-weight. Once again, the regained energy allowed him to move the fallen truck from his path, and he continued onwards to his destination. Twice crippled, he felt the strain of staying awake begin to grow. His body cried out for rest, but his digital spirit overruled the suggestion.
Suddenly, a warning message flashed across his vision, stating, “Error, hydraulics to R. Leg have been compromised. Continued operation will result in permanent damage. Recommend complete shut-down of affected areas in order to maintain core stability.”
Heeding the words of his processor, Maloch did so, further crippling himself for the sake of others. Now reduced to crawling forward with one arm, further progress was slow and arduous. Almost completely drained of energy, he finally made it to the clearing. His hope that the others were safe were momentarily dashed when he saw the state of his surroundings. Countless fallen trees crisscrossed the area, obliterating the undergrowth. Crawling forward, he began to frantically search for the bodies of his comrades.
When he reached the place the trio had occupied, he stopped and stared in amazement. Miraculously they were still asleep, apparently unmindful of the chaos that had occurred while they had slept. They had been protected by two trees falling together, each one holding the other up in the shape of an /, an almost impossible occurrence. His fears allayed, Maloch allowed the last of his systems to shut down, the last image in his mechanical sight being that of Kingston, Alza and Barsch huddled together in peaceful repose.
Awakening Page 101