Atuli stood on an outcropping between lanes of the Palm expressway with her arms crossed. She glared at the many lanes of heavy traffic screaming all around. The Palm was the closest thing to a bridge between the upper and lower regions of the city. Highway junctions separated, ascending into the air through large rings or descending down under the Palm level. Vehicles whizzed by all around, some lifting off the induction plate and going higher in flight, while others remaining tied to the ground and slunk beneath the surface.
It was a mess. Large hulks of metal moving at reckless speeds filled to the brim with Ether meant it was only a matter of time. This area was a hot spot for trouble, both civil, criminal, and primal. Most of the trouble was angry and entitled drivers with the occasional high speed chase. It had been many years since a giant had taken its’ rampage this high, but different shades of concrete served as a constant reminder that it could happen.
An engineering crew had blocked off a section of the highway to replace some of the filaments that had degraded. Data showed brief power loss in this section which could be a warning sign of a larger issue. The department of transportation took such signs seriously and set out to rectify the issues almost immediately.
Atuli and her squad were here just in case anything went sideways. Response time was greatly reduced if you were already there. While there were also regular enforcement personnel on scene, Preservers in Squires added that extra weight that sometimes needed to be thrown around.
Atuli shifted her weight carefully so as not to make any fast moves and distract them. She was getting a bit stiff from standing around for so long. The power grid workers were almost done and nothing had happened. They were diligently going about their business seemingly unbothered by the speed with which they were surrounded by. She glanced around at her squad to see what they were doing.
Ervann was lying down behind the barrier, throwing a Heat dagger in the air and catching it lazily. Atuli glared at him but otherwise said nothing. The blade wasn’t powered so it wasn’t sharp, but that was still not a good look. His shield was active though, glowing a sharp yellow on the edges of the Squire. His frame was built to be light and fast, paper thin armor and a deflector shield that he never deactivated. That Tsulink dagger and its’ twin housed in the small of his back were his primary tools.
In front of the barrier was his partner, Shay. The larger woman was standing like a soldier with the stock of her Cobra heavy rifle in her hand, half off her shoulder holster. Her medium armor had the flight capacity of a heavy class due to the poor constancy of red ether making flight difficult. A Preserver with red ether was uncommon due to that fact, but Shay was an exception. Her long career and wealth of experience was enough for command to allow her a place in the force.
Atuli’s eyes gravitated again to the Cobra in Shay’s hand again as she quietly fawned over the weapon. She was in the middle mentally of breaking down the rifle into parts when the pavement shook slightly and a shadow fell over her. She looked up to see the green Ether channels illuminating the dark metal of Alek’s squire.
Alek’s Squire was huge, easily dwarfing Atulis’. Standing next to Alek when he was in his Squire was one of the few times when people didn’t look at her in lieu of the hulk towering over her. The frame itself was almost twice his size, just under the height requirement to be a Knight frame. Dense metal plates and shielding adorned the Squire making it look like a suit of armor wearing another bigger suit of armor. Most people wouldn’t be able to get the thing moving, let alone off the ground. Alek was probably one of the few people strong enough to power the massive hunk of metal, let alone the extra large thrusters on its back to get off the ground.
A large Tervan gunlance docked on his back was his main weapon designed exclusively to kill Titans. The thick metal shield housed a heavy canon combined with a stout chisel-like blade. Lodge the blade in the Titans’ thick hide and blast away the core with one shot. Few weapons were designed with such brutal efficiency in mind.
“Any chatter?” Alek asked. He got a half hearted wave from Ervann, but that was all.
“No sir.” Shay said.
“Keep your eyes peeled.” Alek said and lifted a massive foot over Ervann. Ervann rolled under Aleks’ leg and skipped himself off the ground.
“Alright, alright!” He sighed catching the dagger and slotting it behind his back with two fingers. He did it so deftly you would think those were his actual hands. “I’m lookin’, see?”
Just as the words cut out a loud scraping wail came from behind the traffic. Atuli instantly gave her thruster a spurt, lifting herself up onto Aleks’ shoulder. Her HUD was unable to filter through the traffic quick enough, highlighting each vehicle one at a time. Atuli recognized the pattern and let her eyes find the problem. She saw the roof of a vehicle break the monotony to sharply to be a lane change. Other vehicles were swerving out of control after that one made a pass. Bingo.
“IP south patrol, lane 4, reckless 100 yards, .” Atuli said flaring her thruster up for flight. She jumped up to hover as Alek took a heavy step forward. She pinged the vehicle as it approached and increased speed.
“Patrol copy, reckless, Officer responding.” A voice crackled over the comms. Alek shook the ground as he landed in front of the unprotected workers. He crouched low to the ground with green ether flaring up in external filament channels. An immovable object. Atuli watched the vehicle swerve around him at a high speed, blowing by traffic at a dangerously close distance.
Lucky break. A patrol officer was nearby and would lock the driver down. The ping would stay as long as she kept the vehicle in sight, making it easy. She floated higher and higher with her eyes locked on the vehicle until something blasted her from behind.
Her arms pinwheeled as her balance was lost and she spun out of control. She cursed as she lost sight of the vehicle and tried to counteract her spin. She was loosely aware of someone shouting something over the comms, but she was busy. She tucked her legs and twisted her waist to get the thrusters under herself. Stabilizers behind her triceps clicked open and jolted her upright as her feet skidded across the ground. Shay grabbed one of Atuli’s flailing arms and yanked her back upright before she ran into something headfirst. They slid over the ground and back of Atuli’s helmet gently tapped against something as they slowly scrapped to a stop.
“What was that?!” Atuli yelled. People were screaming so loudly that her helmet was filtering them out.
“Barge tipped over! Started a pileup!” Ervann shouted over the comms. “There’s a fire!”
Goosebumps rippled across Atuli’s triceps as she and Shay stared up in shock. Thick dark smoke was billowed up over the barrier. A fire. In one of the most crowded and congested places in the city. Not to mention the sheer amount of filaments in the vicinity. Filaments were derived from oil and not easy to set off, but when they burned, they burned. Everyone and their mother knew it and there was a mad panic to get away that spread like wildfire.
“Was that a hazard transport?! It shouldn’t have gone up so fast.” Shay said as she knelt and quickly powered down her ether rifle.
“It’s a loose top! Whatever it was is going up all over the freeway. Looked like a car’s wedged under it!” Ervann shouted. The roaring of the flames could be heard through his comms.
“Deploying.” Alek’s level voice cut through the chaos. The ground shook as he landed out of sight.
“Clear footpaths! Get these people out of here! Move all unaffected vehicles out of the way.” Atuli shouted both in comms and speakers. Shay shot forward legs pumping leaving cracked pavement in her wake. She vaulted over the barrier as Ervann shoved engineers over it.
Stolen novel; please report.
Atuli kicked off and rocketed upwards as she ran a line to dispatch. This small space would fill up quick and it was a death trap with nowhere to go. Her thrusters spluttered out and failed to lift off properly. She used the momentum and skipped to the highest point, a crashed and twisted bus. She began running a diagnostic program as she peering in the dark windows of the bus as it filled with smoke. There were people trapped inside that thing! She blinked to hide the feed as she ripped the door off the bus with a great burst of black smoke. She ran a line to dispatch as she began pulling people out in droves. There was a faint click as the line connected.
<“Dispatch.”>
“I’m on IP South by exit 4c with a large vehicle fire, send the fire brigade to my beacon.” Atuli said hurriedly over the line. She set a beacon to three and dropped at her feet as she searched seat after seat of the bus for anyone left behind. A yellow HUD warning her of air quality blinked in the corner of her visor and small fans hummed by her jaw as the filters kicked up a notch. She had to hurry. A normal person would be unconscious shortly and suffocate in minutes.
<“That’s quite a situation. Can I have some identification, please?”> A bored voice responded. Atuli smashed her foot through the jammed emergency exit. More smoke billowed out from the vented bus and rose above the wreckage. She pursed her lips as she flipped a switch to share voice and video. A great white fireball from a filament explosion burst into the sky with perfect timing as the feed went live.
“This is Captain Atuli Lascaris, Officer #2551, I’m on IP south near exit 4b. We have a large fire from a vehicle collision, get fire brigade to my beacon ASAP!” Atuli shouted as she checked abandoned vehicles for anyone injured or unconscious. People bounced off her as they ran by in various degrees of shock. Eyes glassy and unfocused reflecting the growing flames and not where their feet were going. She heard what could only be described as the dispatcher falling out of his chair and scrambling back to his desk.
<“Yes Ma’am! Right away!”>
Atuli cut the line and re-synced herself to the squad.
“Ervann! Status!” She asked as she shoved a car to the side to open up a path.
“I’ve checked most of the vehicles behind the barge.” Ervann said a little out of breath. He must have been moving pretty fast. “I got the transport driver here, had to pry off his door. He’s pretty banged up but he said the stuff is corroded filament shards. They’ll burn, but they won’t explode.”
“Good, get him to a safe location.” Atuli said. She could hear the man mumbling about being cut off through Ervann’s receiver. “Shay?”
“I need assistance, I have injured on the service platform.” Shay said.
“Copy. Ervann, help Shay. Flag down the first responders when they get here. Clear a space if you need to.” Atuli said as she looked around for a moving mountain.
“Yes boss!” Ervann said. A yellow streak shot by as he raced around.
“A child has been left behind.” Alek said with a little strain.
Atuli zeroed in on Alek’s voice. She used her thrusters for short burst of speed as she dashed across the tops of abandoned vehicles. Alek had a proximity in the fiercest of flames near the crater edge of the explosion. Of course he did.
“Atuli, you there? I have to throw her.” Alek said.
Atuli landed heavily on the roof a of a car, shattering the glass. She planted her feet and made sure her footing wouldn’t buckle. Her main thruster was still unreliable. but it could still give her a quick boost. “Ready!” Atuli said priming her stabilizers. She had a feeling she’d need them.
The smoke parted momentarily and a small child was thrust up into the air. Atuli blasted into a quick dash and leapt up off of a nearby wreckage. She spun around the child to reduced the impact and used her side thrusters to glide over the intense flames. One of the stabilizers on her legs shorted and burst from the rising heat causing her to lose some balance. She still managed to stick the landing with a little slide.
“Ervann!” Atuli called as she checked the bawling child for injuries. Ervann appeared almost immediately with a flash of yellow and a metallic clank.
“I could have done that you know.” He grumbled as he pried the child from Atuli.
“Move it.” Atuli said pushing him away. “Where is the Fire Brigade?”
“Haven’t seen em.” Ervann said with a shrug.
“Typical!” Atuli growled as she stomped her foot and faced the rising flames.
“Calm down.”
The flames billowed mightily and a massive shadow stepped out of the raging fire like a demon from hell. Green lines of ether projected themselves outward as Aleks’ shield was maxed out. He took a few thudding steps away from the blaze and knelt, powering down. Coolant flaps flipped open and hissed as they came in contact with the air, desperately trying to shed heat. The back hatch of Aleks’ squire popped open and he rose out, careful not to touch the metal on the outside. He was breathing heavily and drenched with sweat.
“You okay?” Ervann asked. The child had stopped crying and looked up at Alek in awe.
“I’m fine if she is.” Alek said as he blew drops of sweat off the tip of his nose.
“Seems alright,” Evan said.
“She won’t be if she stays here.” Atuli said jabbing a thumb over her shoulder.
“Roger.” Ervan said and skipped away with the child still watching over his shoulder.
“Your engineer will have your head for this.” Atuli said kicking the shin of Aleks’ Squire.
“Maybe.” Alek said fanning out his shirt and smoothing back his sweaty hair. “I will wear it.”
“Of course.” Atuli said looking over her shoulder at the approaching sound of sirens. “Finally! Took them long enough!”
“Two minutes, not bad.” Alek said shielding his eyes from the flames to look up at the approaching squadron of fire brigade hovercraft. Enforcer squads from other highways were flowing in from all directions as well. A loudspeaker a few decibels away from a sonic weapon blasted them with bulletins.
<“PLEASE EVACUATE!”>
<“THIS IS A DISASTER AREA!”>
<“PLEASE EVACUATE!”>
Atuli glared up at the fleet of hovercraft streaming down from above as Alek closed up his Squire. Green ether filled the damaged filaments slowly but surely. Green ether was so stable that even damaged filaments would still conduct the power without issue.
“Good work, as always.” Atuli said.
“Likewise.” Alek said as he closed the vents and shook out his arms. Heavy boots hit the highway as Brigadiers jumped from hovercraft to hook up water lines. Metal screamed as they further cleared the area around the blaze. The hover craft positioned themselves in a ring-like shell around the fire and began pumping heavy showers at the flames. Special chemicals mixed with the water to make a sort of foam that degraded filaments faster than they burned. If the filaments were destroyed the subsequent heat explosion didn't occur. It was a race.
An emergency medical shuttle thrummed by them towards the service platform. A burst of red and yellow came from behind a vehicle as it was shoved aside to make room. Shay and Ervann seemed to be doing alright. A commander unit from the fire brigade backed up to them, keeping his eyes on the fire. A hardlight image of the area projected between his forearms as he directed his teams.
“Greetings!” He shouted over the cacophony of sound. “Were you first on scene?”
“Affirmative.” Atuli said. “We cased the scene and evacuated everyone we saw to the service landing behind us.”
“Have there been any explosions?”
“Just one.”
“Good, let’s keep it that way! Standby, we’ll take it from here.” The commander said and flicked a finger to widen the projection to include the rear. Atuli stood with Alek at a safe distance waiting in case they were called upon.
Atuli was filling out the beginnings of an after accident report when a ping came over the feed. Atuli narrowed her eyes when she read the “Reckless driving” tag.
“Think that’s the guy?” Alek asked.
“Could be.” Atuli said as she experimentally flared her thrusters.
“Cool it.” Alek said. “Let them do their job so we can do ours.”
“Protecting people is my job.” Atuli said.
“More reason to leave it.” Alek said. “You go over there and that driver is in danger.”
Atuli flared her nostrils. “I just wanna talk to them.”
“Can I watch?” Ervann asked skidding to a stop nearby.
“You done already?” Atuli asked looking back to see the shuttle flying by overhead.
“EMTs don’t mess around.” Shay said as she walked over. “Clearing the scene is protocol one for filament fires.”
“We’re still here, tho?” Ervann whined.
“You’re in weaponized armor powered and shielded by ether,” Shay said pointing in Ervanns’ face. “Unless you’re in the blast, you can walk it off.”
Atuli hid a smirk and Alek shook his head as the two began bickering. Atuli went back to filling out her report as the smoke from the fire turned white and ashy. A direct line alert popped up on the edge of her HUD.
“Captain Micarel!” Atuli said hurriedly turning away from the squabble.
<“I see damage, are you alright?”> Adelyn asked.
“We’re a little roughed up from a fire, but on standby with the Brigade near exit 4c in the palm.” Atuli said glancing around.
<“Fire damage is no joke, can you make it back?> Adelyn asked. Atuli looked at her diagnostic report and sighed. Several of the thrusters were busted. Brand new ones too. Typical Tsulink. Good shields and heat venting, but below average support systems.
“I’ll make it back up to the armory,” Atuli said. “But Alek and I may need medical attention after our mechanics see our Squires.”
<“I will warn them…”> Adelyn said with a chuckle. <“Just try not to get into trouble on the way in.”>
“Yes ma’am” Atuli said and let her head loll to the side. If Tsulink wasn’t a fit, Heffia had mentioned Tervan plates or even Xeder heavy plates. She hated being heavy, but if it meant she could fly without a problem she’d deal with it.
“I liked being a Light class.” Atuli grumbled to herself before she turned to face the squad. "We'll be lucky if they let either of us near a Squire again."