Part Sixty-Four (Rixen) (2/2)
Rexin saw the notification on his HUD and charged, completely confident in the instructions. He slid behind a vast conveyor belt that had identical pieces of metal moving by. He slapped a sticky charge, jumped to his feet...
...the conveyor belt, hit by a rocket fired by Hepra, fell on him, reducing him to smear.
I die
Rixen opened his eyes. His mag-rifle opened its eyes, stretched, and linked up with his onboard cyberware. Rixen saw his visor flicker, the firmware and the onboard warboi load up, then it went clear. The rocket-pack checked. Loaded with mini-missiles, not micro-missiles, with a fast reload creation-engine and a warboi. The warboi sneezed, a common reaction to sudden rehashing.
He was in a dropship. Across from him was Telrik, who's visor had just cleared. Rixen looked to the side at Hepra who snickerd and shrugged. Rixen stuck his tonge out at her.
I live
Rixen heard the docking clamps release and the dropship was hammering down as fast as it could. Screens, EW, flares, chaff, point defense hot and wiping out missiles that it knew what the missiles would do. Spinning right when a plasma-cannon battery shot left, ducking underneath a nCv volley, orienting and getting right just in time.
The doors slammed down and Rixen charged out, across the open space. He triggered the explosive as he ran and saw the massive fabricator rip itself apart when the inversion charge went off. Rexin ran through the smoke, first down the massive corridor. He fired off two missiles configured for cartography, moved around a corner.
And fell down a two mile deep shaft.
I die
Rixen used his jump-belt to clear the shaft opening, moving fast, firing off two more cartography missiles and dropping an alert beacon behind him. He followed the diamond on his HUD, paying attention to the datastream.
I live
He passed Hepra, dead with her head torn off by a machine that had been killed by Telrik who was dead twenty steps ahead, torn apart by a missile. He jumped over the bodies of his fellow troops, landing and spraying off a full load of missiles at the massive machines waiting in the huge cavernous bay in front of him.
Their return fire hit Rexin before his rockets hit them.
I die
Rexin jumped over his own body, spreading out behind the rest of the platoon, keeping up interlocking fire patterns and scrapping machines as they came in. Behind him the dropship, reconfigured for ground assault, clattered on its massive tracks.
I live
Hepra took a missile to the face, blowing her upper body apart, as the machines rushed the invaders. Rexin overrode the slush warning and let the gnashing and wailing warbio fire the hypersonic missiles at enemies he could barely see.
Hepra exited the Assault Shuttle, running full speed, a heavy rocket launcher in her arms, her armor reconfigured for heavy assault. She knelt down.
”ATOMIC OUT!” she yelled over the crackling and static filled channel. The rocket fired out, got a hundred meters from the platoon's front line, blew stealth shields off and went hypersonice.
Hellfire blotted out the machines coming into the massive cavern almost two miles away.
Another Assault Dropship clanked up, blowing out pressurized super-heated coolant up and away from the craft.
Rexin got on one, fired an illumination missile, and revealed the assault that was attempting to get close.
A Precursor anti-armor rocket hit him dead center, blowing him in half.
I die
Rexin felt his armor go live and thundered out. His armor was a heavy assault model, four tons of warsteel and hatred. He left the assault carrier, his omnisensors, as good as the Assault Dropship, reached out and looked for targets. The massive manufacturing bay was behind him. This was a corridor over 200m wide.
I live
Four Assault Shuttles were behind him as he moved up, past the line of soldiers in power armor.
Hepra flashed an 'eat a dick' icon at him and he flashed back a 'rip my ass' icon back.
Telrik signaled that he'd found something new and different. Rexin charged up, all his weapons warmed up, including the massive particle projection cannon over his shoulder. Telrik stood beside tiny doors that had actual switches, not just blank surfaces where the machines would just radio it open.
Bladearm switches.
They were close.
Hepra flashed out a set of cartography missiles and Rexin watched it update his internal map.
Rexin waited for Telrik to move aside the ripped apart the alloy door with his power armor guantleted gloves. Beyond was an auditorium.
”We're close,” Rexin grunted.
”FOUND IT!” Hepra yelled.
A maintenance machine dropped from a vent and snapped her head off with a heavy plasma cutter. Other machines swarmed and Rexin let loose with his onboard weapons, wading through the robots, smashing with his fists and crushing with his feet even while his armor's warboi pumped out terrawatts of power from his lasers, particle beams, and masers. A pair of atomics through two different vents resulted in rumbles over a mile away each when the warhead's detected and destroyed enemy machines.
The troop door opened up on the Assault Shuttle and Hepra came out, a thicker neck on her armor. She moved up next to Rexin and checked her status as the missiles linked back up with her.
”Two kay, that's it!” she called out.
The Confed Drop Marines (Clone Worlds) shouted their war cry as they charged toward the Strategic Intelligence Housing of the Goliath.
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TO: Admiral Xhulamir
FROM: Captain Ferniax, CWNV Dancing Geisha
Goliath neutralized. Clone banks at 62%. SUDS Stack at 72%. Slush at 23%.
Am transmitting cartography of this Goliath for analysis.
WE LIVE! WE DIE! WE LIVE AGAIN!
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TELKAN GESTALT QUESTION
Why?
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MANTID FREE WORLDS
You guys be quiet.
TSQ>Why what, dear ones?
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TELKAN GESTALT
Why do they do that? Keep charging in even though they get killed en-masse. Why?
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MANTID FREE WORLDS
Because it's what they do, dear one. Don't be frightened. It's just how they are.
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BIOLOGICAL ARTIFICIAL SENTIENCE SYSTEMS
Ook ook! Me break stuff! Me bored! Ook Ook!
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TELKAN GESTALT
?????
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TERRASOL
They think they're funny. Don't worry, kid. You'll understand eventually. Just hold on to that.
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DIGITAL ARTIFICIAL SENTIENCE SYSTEMS
OH SHIT! IT'S DAD! RUN!
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TERRASOL
Ha fucking ha.
Get off my damn lawn.
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