26 HQ Arrives (2/2)
Captain Fang held a hand up to his helmet and pressed a small button. ”This is your captain. Status report.”
”All clear captain. No signs of mutants nearby. Mana-radio is experiencing no interference from any nearby mana-waves.”
”Understood. We're taking the quick way down then.”
The captain and his 10 men all lined up at the end of the building. They each aimed one arm at the edge of the roof. Then they used their other hand to press a switch on the arm taking aim. A grapple fired from each of their arms and penetrated directly through the concrete roof. They each began to jump down the side of the building. They repeatedly pushed off from the building wall, fell some distance, and swung back onto the wall. Nine other squads of 10 men each from the other quadcopters could be seen doing the same. They were all under Captain Fang's command.
They soon reached the bottom of their respective buildings. They pressed a switch on their arms and the grapples forcefully separated from the building and returned to them. They automatically wound back into their exo suits. They were several neighborhoods away from the local Sinless base. ”All squads. I want you to clean up the nearby neighborhoods and rendezvous at the flare within 15 minutes.” He pulled out a steam flare gun and fired at a nearby tall building. A flare releasing red flames shot from the gun and lit a small fire atop the building.
”Understood captain!” The voices of each squad leader came through on his mini mana-radio built into his helmet.
He turned to the men behind him. ”Rails on. Weapons ready.”
”Yes captain!”
The men rose their feet and kicked the bottom of their heels onto the ground. It caused four wheels on the bottom of each boot to appear. The boots were much larger than ordinary boots to begin with. Each one contained a miniature steam engine between the bottom of the boot and the sole. Two small exhaust pipes stuck out of the back of each boot.
A small whistling sound could be heard as steam poured out of the back of the boots. The men began to skate as fast as a steam wagon as they traveled through the city streets. The wind rushed past them as they easily dodged, weaved, and jumped through any debris in their way.
”Snipers. Take point.”
”Yes captain!”
Two men separated from the squad and aimed at the top of a nearby building. Two grapples fired out to the top of the building and embedded in the concrete. They jumped onto the building wall and pressed a switch on their arms. The grapple began to retract while staying embedded in the concrete. The wheels on their boots made it easy for them to quickly climb to the top of the building.
The two men pulled large steam rifles from their backs. They each took a long tube and twisted it on the end of their rifle. Then they laid down and aimed through their scopes. ”We're in position captain.”
”Good. Sending pheromones now.” The captain opened a pouch on his tactical belt and pulled out a small glass vial. He opened the stopper and threw it a distance away. It shattered and released some pink powder, but nothing else seemed to happen. ”They'll be here soon. Everyone, get in position.”
The squad took position in a small one-story building. It left a clear line of sight for the snipers to assist. Two men held large steam hand cannons. It took two hands to barely hold one. Each one took over a window and took aim. The captain and six other men held steam revolver rifles. They were like ordinary steam rifles but could shoot 6 rounds each. The final two men held steam double barrel shotguns.
Several minutes later.
Loud roars began to ring through the air. A horde of mutants could be seen heading towards them. ”Weapons free.” The captain said.
The two snipers on the roof took aim and fired. Ordinary lead bullets shot from the rifles while a large blast of steam exited from the side. They had to wait 30 seconds between shots to gather enough steam for another shot.
No one else fired yet. They couldn't waste their limited ammunition. Soon, the horde grew closer. The captain and six other riflemen began firing. Streams of steam exited the top of the rifles, making it difficult to see. It took several shots to take down weaker mutants, while the stronger mutants weren't impacted at all.
The two shotgunners didn't wait inside. Steam shot from their skates as they closed in on the mutants. They took aim and fired at the slightly stronger mutant's heads. The recoil forced their skates backwards, but they easily adapted and continued kiting the mutants.
The two hand cannoneers continued to wait for further orders.
”They've gotten close enough. Permission to use mana-ammunition. Cannons free.”
”Yes captain!”
The two hand cannoneers grinned as they pulled out small lead cannonballs. However, the ammunition glowed slightly red. They took aim and fired. Boom! Two large explosions rang out as the cannonballs slammed into the horde of mutants. Fire spread everywhere. Several strong mutants among the horde died. The cannoneers waved away the large amount of steam that exited their cannons and began to reload to shoot again.
The snipers started loading bullets that glowed silver. They aimed for only the strongest mutants and fired. Miniature explosions could be seen as mutant heads blew up and electricity scattered around them. Some weaker mutants in the vicinity were paralyzed in the process.
The riflemen loaded bullets that glowed slightly green. A burst of green wind trailed behind each bullet, propelling them at much faster speeds. The ordinary steam revolver rifles had turned into the weapons gunning down the most mutants. The wind completely made up for their weak firepower.
The two shotgunners kept some distance while loading bullets releasing a black aura. Each time they fired, a black mist would encompass the surrounding area. The weaker mutants flesh corroded as they touched the mist. The stronger mutants were slowed down.
It was only five minutes later that all the mutants lay dead in a messy pile of flesh and bones. Captain Fang spoke, ”Search them for mana-cores and move on. We don't have the time or resources to collect the other materials for now. You have five minutes. Then we're heading to the rendezvous point.”
”Yes captain!”