Chapter 123: (Telkan) (1/2)

The whole jungle came alive with a roar, plants and insects waking up, fed a massive jolt of nutrients and chemicals to encourage growth, repair, and agressiveness. Trees shifted, some slightly some overtly, fungal blooms exploded out of the moss from underneath small lumps, bamboo-like trees and honesuckle-esque vines and neo-blackberry whips exploded outward.

Vuxten knew that they wouldn't be able to fight their way through it, the landscape was shifting too fast to be able to easily navigate.

”471, prep another drone, program it to stay above us, program a second one to hover in between General Ekret and us, and a third to get in between General Trucker and us. Second and third at near-max elevation,” Vuxten snapped out.

--roger roger building-- 471 popped back.

Vuxten looked around, still keeping up the best pace, but it was hardly better than a jog. Too many plants were growing too fast, the paths changing before half of the scout patrol could move through, meaning he'd already had to move two of the Corporals and shift them to lead the other thirds.

There has to be a way. Know the enemy and you can, Vuxten thought to himself. He looked over to the side and saw it.

There was a layer of plants that were already spitting plasma and lasers at anyone who got too close, meaning everyone was starting to shift away from them.

But it was the middle. In between the two rows was the thick pipes of nutrient pumping the slurry in from the cliffs.

”First Telkan, Mount the pipes! Marines, break between the trees and pipes!” Vuxten yelled out, turning and jumping, a high arc, over the plants and landing on the thick heavy tube. It flexed slightly but held as Vuxten started running. ”471, give me a tensile strength rating. How much spacing do we need?”

--computing-- 471 said. --first drone ready, next fabricating--

”Ten meter spacing till I know the tensile,” Vuxten snapped.

Captain Clynes smashed aside a large tree before it could squirt acid across anyone, ducking under a wad of sap and moving next to the outside pipe.

--cyborgs five meters apart, telkan three meters, internal pressure is 120 psi, two meters thickness-- 471 said. --firing drone--

His shoulder mounted 40mm tube thudded and he heard it reload.

”Marines, ten meters apart, Telkan, five meters apart,” Vuxten snapped. ”All units, stop firing.”

The pipe doesn't have moss on it, so no 'nerves', pressure is enough to make it so that we won't register any overpressure, Vuxten thought.

”They won't be able to tell where we are. No sensors on the pipes,” Vuxten said, slowing down slightly.

Clynes jumped, landing smoothly, and began jogging after the Telkan in front of him. He knew there was one behind him by his internal IFF system.

--launching-- 471 said.

”Patch Captain Clynes into the first drone, laser commo only, we need to see around us,” Vuxten said.

Clynes was startled when the drone pinged him. He opened a channel and saw the entire area around the recon team for at least a mile.

”Make sure the drone will highlight any vein strikes or power blooms,” Vuxten told 471.

--roger roger launching drone two-- 471 answered.

”Try to tie in General Ekret. Have three contact General Trucker,” Vuxten said.

--was going to try to download mantid pornography fap fap fap-- 471 shot back.

”Sorry, stressed,” Vuxten chuckled.

--yummy gummy-- 471 answered.

”I'll probably choke on it,” Vuxten said, jumping over a thick cable as thick as a human's leg.

--not dick you be fine-- 471 laughed. --launching three--

Vuxten chuckled, still moving, still jumping, dodging a low flying insect and batting it off to the side with one armored hand hard enough to stun it and send it flying but not enough to kill it.

Kill a bug it releases a death scent, Vuxten thought.

ATOMIC ATOMIC ATOMIC flashed across his screen.

Vuxten gritted his teeth and kept running. He knew the atomics meant that Trucker was engaging.

”TARGET, THIRTY-EIGHT MIKES MARK!” Trucker called out. ”FIRE!”

”SHOT OUT!” his gunner yelled over the com-link, knowing that Trucker would be half deaf and 'in the zone' and probably knew whether or not the shot hit.

”IMPACT! TARGET STILL MOVING!”