9 Book 3 Chapter 5 (1/2)
”Where the hell is Decker?” A middle-aged woman covered in modern military-grade equipment screamed at her allies, her voice full of fear and anxiety.
”He's coming, he said he was close!” A man wearing similar equipment replied as he opened fire with his plasma gun. Blue beams of light shot through the air, destroying drones and spiderbots in rapid succession.
The area they were fighting in was a large underground room, full of barricades and sentry turrets. There was around fifteen humans fighting against a horde of robots. Mutilated bodies and destroyed robots littered the ground. It was pure chaos. Hundreds of bullets and plasma beams lit up the room. It was pretty to look at, if not for the gruesome wounds they inflicted.
”AGH-!” A scream rang through the room before being cut short.
The middle-aged woman glanced to the front entrance and found a horrifying sight. She gasped. ”Damn, they sent a soldier! We're finished!”
The soldier she was referring to was a sturdy humanoid robot. A plasma cutter, a melee weapon with destructive power, had just easily bisected a soldier from head to toe. The two sides of the man's body fell to the ground. The soldier stepped over the corpse, its red eyes scanning the room.
”Focus your fire on the soldier!” The middle-aged woman was the highest commanding officer of this group, so her order was immediately followed through.
”Take this!” A man with a rocket launcher fired a missile. There was a loud whistling sound followed by an explosion. He looked hopefully in the direction of the soldier, only to shriek in fear.
A transparent blue shield covered the front of the soldier. There was a few cracks from the impact, but even those showed visible signs of healing.
Unfortunately, while focusing fire on the soldier had stopped it in its tracks, the remaining robots took this chance to kill several soldiers. Now only ten remained, with more soon to fall.
”Damn, damn.” The middle-aged woman glanced at the man behind her who had contact with their base. ”Where is DECKER?!”
The ground suddenly trembled as one of the walls collapsed. A broad figure walked out from the heap of smoke. Shockingly, over half of his body was made of metal. In fact, it looked exactly like the metal making up the soldier's body. Decker's mechanical eye flashed. An endless amount of information entered his brain, instantly informing him of the situation. He issued an order as he charged towards the largest threat. ”Leave it to me!”
”Decker!” The remaining soldiers sighed with relief when they saw Decker arrive. Previously the fight had been hopeless, but now that Decker was here, victory was in hand.
”This way was faster.” Decker laughed as he ran, the cement floor caving in from the weight of his body.
The time when Decker first arrived to when he appeared in front of the soldier was less than a second. He roared as he planted his foot into the ground, twisted his waist, and swung his arm with all his strength. As he did so, his mechanical arm suddenly grew twice as large. A vibrational wave flowed from his shoulder, down his arm, and out his fist at the moment of impact.
The blue shield protecting the soldier collapsed instantly. Decker's fist continued onward, slamming into the soldier's body. The chest of the robot caved in as it was sent flying backwards. It collided into a wall, causing it to collapse.
”Hah! Take that you little sh-” Decker spat out a mouthful of blood. He glanced down and found a plasma cutter sticking through his chest. The metal surrounding the blade melted upon contact. With a hoarse roar, he grabbed the blade with his mechanical arm while sending his other arm behind him. The sound of something being struck was heard, even though there was nothing there.
He pulled the plasma cutter out and wielded it with his flesh arm as he shouted. ”Be careful, there's a stealthbot here!”
”Decker, enemy reinforcements incoming!” the middle-aged woman shouted.
Decker turned towards the front entrance, his face growing grim. ”Well, crap.”
Five soldiers walked confidently through the front entrance, each of them wielding a plasma cutter. Even worse, the stealthbot was still lurking around. His flesh arm wasn't enough to take it out.
One of the soldiers stepped forward and spoke in an emotionless voice. ”Human. Surrender. Lead us to your base and your life will be spared.”
”Screw off.” Decker scoffed, his eye narrowing. The situation was grim. He might be able to escape, but there was nowhere to run to. This was already close enough to the resistance base as it was. He couldn't lead them there. Chuckling, he stepped forward as he spoke to his comrades. ”Everyone, head back to the base. I'll hold them back.”
”Deck-” The middle-aged woman began, only to be cut off.
”That's an order, Suzzy. Tell Cable this entrance was compromised. He'll know what to do.” Decker's body began to pulse with energy, his energy core going into overload.
There was many entrances leading to their base, and if they lost control of one, they would collapse it with explosives. Doing so would make sure their base stayed hidden, but at the cost of Decker's life. Suzzy's eyes shook before they hardened with resolve. ”Full Retreat!”
As this was underground, Decker was unable to utilize his full strength. Otherwise he could sweep the floor with these bots. Still, he easily sent the closest soldier flying with his mechanical arm while slashing out with the plasma cutter. Just then, the sound of wind being cut came from behind. The stealthbot chose the perfect moment to attack. He was unable to react at all.