Sam heard the crackling thunder from the shot the Tiger took, stopping her heart and her focus the instant she realized Dani was the one at the other end of the blast. Immediate fears for the worst rushed in, paralyzing her beyond her ability to finish tracking her target and squeezing the trigger. She wanted to cry out to Dani, and desperately wished she would answer back to say she was alright.
Her locked state was shattered once more a second later by two volleys of rifle fire, almost as if it were by her own input commands. Reality snapped back in as she instinctively pulled her rifle over the retreating Tiger, seeing it tumbling away to avoid two streams of fire.
It’s… it’s on the defensive! That must be Sebastian and Renzo!
She watched it tumble out of direct view behind other buildings, triggering her next immediate response, bursting off towards Dani’s last location. “Eunice! Respond!!” She finally managed to scream out, now with wheels hitting the asphalt under full boost.
[I’m fine but I’m down!] Dani answered back through suppressed panic. [Cruella, you might use this better than I can!] She continued through her shortened breaths, referencing the cannon she had just used on the Tiger somewhat successfully.
But despite the immense relief she felt from hearing Dani’s words, Sam’s fear for the others kicked in, knowing they had no such firepower to face the Tiger head on-
-No, they’ve done this before! I have to trust them!
And a sharp, familiar pinging sound snapped her attention to the green tags that appeared only in a way that signified her teammates on the ground. Even the callsigns Enrai assigned everyone showed above as she immediately recognized “Enzo,” “Ernesto,” and “Emilia” amongst others in her view, each several blocks apart. Huh?! But how!?
It then hit her as she rounded the corner that somehow Hexa worked their magic with the Akkadian Navy and one of their laser communications satellites as it was just like before: just sunny enough to let any necessary amount of communication links blast through any jamming cloud set up.
“That’s our eye in the sky! It’s back!” She elated, and with the short-lived fear from not knowing her friends’ movements temporarily fought off, the other reared its head:
But that one-one-nine order Mom asked for, there’s no way she really asked for that, is there?! Mom, what kind of trouble are you in?!I can’t do something like that!
Amidst continued echoing from intermittent rifle fire inundating the alleys she zipped through, Dani’s LTAC finally came into view; the Ai-20’s wrecked state flashed back memories from her first ever escapade that ended in a nightmare scenario months back. She was this time, however, in the driver’s seat and not the other way around. It was just two blocks down, right in the middle of the intersection, hanging over a small crater in the ground. But the most important detail she noticed was that the main hatch was still closed. In her mind, Dani should have been well enough to make her retreat, especially given the damage dealt was in the form of a left leg unit all but severed from the main frame.
“Eunice! You need to get to the building behind you!” Sam yelled out as she then instantly brought her view up to the skies. Where is that guy?!
Her radio came to life so clearly that next instant, almost as if she forgot how poorly jamming had hurt their lines up until now. [Eunice!] Renzo roared over the line. [We’re on the offensive! Run while you can!]
[I can’t!] Dani fussed back, quickly losing her composure. [The hatch is stuck!]
“Ella, you are the closest!” Sebastian joined in. “We have this, get her to safety!”
[No we don’t, damn it- Cruella! Keep firing from the back end!] Renzo barked angrily, fearful of losing their dwindling chances to get any more shots in.
Sam had no clue what they were seeing, but all she could see was her friend in need just a single city block away. More gunfire added from additional directions along with her racing mind blocked out whatever radio chatter followed, unable to stray from her course. She knew she lived to fight upright as she did greatly in part to Dani saving her that rainy night not too far back. Sam knew it was her turn, now, to return the favor.
I don’t know where the Tiger went, but I sure as hell can’t run away.
“Dani,” she let out as she lost care to mask their identities over a possibly hacked line. “Hold tight!”
[It’s coming your way, Cruella! Fire back!] Renzo’s shout made it through clearly this time, however.
And the second the live interpretation spoke “your way,” her heart stopped as she realized where Dani lay. Forgetting the risk, she pressed both sticks forward in a hope to beat whatever it was coming “Dani! Brace yourself!”
[Cruella!] Dani screamed back in a horrifying manner, one Sam had never heard from her in her life. [Hurry! Something’s targeting me!]
Sam had little to no shield left, but it had to do something as she rotated her torso in desperation, hoping to tackle Dani out from the intersection at this rate. Sam, too, braced herself for a violent impact as the downed Ai-20 zoomed closer into her collision field.
A brilliant bolt of blinding light erupted into showers of asphalt, dirt, and sparks. Her LTAC piled through what felt like a wall instead of a train car, careening through all too easily, and all in the most sickening way. Her LTAC immediately stumbled and lost its footing, slamming into the ground left-shoulder first as the shield mount was ground into a white-hot nub.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Her heart continued pounding out of her chest and her breathing never settled enough to allow her to form a single word. Her eyes couldn’t make out anything, either, All she could make sense of was the constant yelling: [Dani!!] from both of her brothers.
…
[Dani! Answer me!]
…
[Dani!! Damn it! Dani!!]
…
Sam finally got herself together enough to pick herself up, not even thinking to calculate her frame’s status or damage taken. All that mattered was that it did stand up, and it only took a second to assess what she stared down back at the crater she passed through. The Ai-20 had been ripped in half from what she could tell, and with it her heart felt like it did the same, all confirmed with the soul-shattering “zero” vital signs alert.
Dani, no…
[It’s running away! Help me get that fucking son of a bitch!] Renzo roared in a newly ignited furor as others joined right afterward.
[Sam! Hurry and help us!] Sebastian added.
[No, let it go!] Kaylen surprisingly rebuked. [We can’t lose anyone else- if he’s retreating, let this fight end so we can get him back on more level grounds!]
[The fuck we will! North sector, keep pursuit!] Renzo quickly answered, queuing Sam’s fueled desire to lash back in its entirety. She didn’t have any flashbacks or any inner thoughts towards her lost friend, only blinding frustration that almost matched that she once felt towards her brother the last time they faced each other. She swore to never take such a mockery ever again, especially when taking away those dear to her.
One quick look at her communications tab and she knew what her heart was set on accomplishing. “Skywatch-Two, this is Samantha Knight calling advised by Amelie Delacroix and Alexander Knight! Requesting authorization for code one-one-nine, target ‘Dumont Building’ North Palermo District!” She barked through a cracking voice, speeding back for Dani’s downed LTAC as if looking for something.
[Cruella! Do you have a shot?!] Renzo interrupted before the next could.
“Sam! Stop! Let it go!” Kaylen shot back as Sam switched off her ground team comms.
“There it is, piece of shit!” Sam shouted to herself as she spotted the cannon that had fell innocently to the asphalt, missed by the series of blasts by a mere meter. Scooping it up as she tossed her own weapon aside, she blasted off the other direction completely opposite from the Tiger’s headings.
“Pilot Knight, this is Skywatch-Two,” spoke the only voice Sam hoped to hear from as her senses fully honed in on one goal: the newly acquired destination marker set by someone above, affirming her underlying suspicion the satellite setup had to have some connection to her parents and not just Hexa magically coming to the rescue. “Request temporarily granted.”
Temporarily granted?
“Dumont Building location set for one-one-nine operation. Civilian casualty risk, level five. SAU Military and police force presence, zero. Guerilla force presence, high risk low confirmation. Union armed forces member presence confirmed. Risk level for jump approach is low.”
Perfect.
She already started her scan for solid jumping lanes and her boost capacitors were maxed out from her lack of usage over the past few minutes.
On her way toward the building she left earlier that morning, each block she passed was another moment she wondered where the Tiger ran off to. The distant machine gun fire stopped, and slowly but steadily it was the sound of sirens from every direction that began to fill the air. And Finally, that last jump came as she came to a halt on top of a parking garage that overlooked both the targeted building and also had a good view of the column of smoke near the Assembly Hall block. She then lifted her cannon, noting it was far more than just an NGF particle cannon like some LTAC’s had been issued before.
Son of a bitch.
She immediately recognized the white and red markings labeled across the receiver, just barely visible behind the adapter framing affixed so that an LTAC’s power system could properly utilize it. It wasn’t that it was larger than usual, it was the unmistakable shape that sent off various signals and sparked a myriad of ideas of how she would make her next move.
This was made from the one used by the ‘Icarus’; another one of Mr. Vrey’s son’s famous pieces of art.
She then looked on toward the Assembly Hall and began targeting the senate chamber’s area. About 60% for that shot. And then she pivoted back toward her target right behind her, looking downward near the bottom floors. Here’s my other 40%. And as she adjusted the power output for the distance to be traveled, the trigger finger that crawled toward its position began to recall the triggers pulled that spilled blood of those nameless faces she stared down on her path to surviving up to this point.
I’ve already been labeled a bad guy before, and by now it’s already set to be in every way possible. But, let’s see if they blame only me for this one, prick.
“Samantha Knight to Skywatch-Two, engaging one-one-nine, Lower Delmont Building, danger close.”
And with that her finger squeezed the trigger.
.
.
Adrian had let out a difficult sigh as his Tiger cruised over the outer limits of the Federal District area, ignoring the soft alert sent from his armor status monitor revealing damage it had sustained in its left leg thruster and stabilizer region. [I had to get out of that one fast,] he mumbled to himself, awaiting transfer to the next radio network. [They weren’t playing. No wonder Colombia’s attempt at this failed as it did.]
He then heard a chime as he cleared his throat. [Project Big One complete,] he exhaustedly spoke over the newly connected network. [Returning to rally point A.]
[Negative, Bender,] an operator responded to his surprise. [Remaining threat indicated to have engaged with forces at the Dumont building and are reporting a sustained blast to the lower floors.]
[I took the cannon out already, what did they miss?] Adrian grumbled, already feeling his time was wasted with the Ai20 he remembered taking out of the picture. [All remaining units were only minimally equipped to handle anything outside of…]
Something caught his attention as he slowed to a halt, turning to spot a large billowing cloud rising from near where he had left. He then saw a brilliant flash of green streak right across the opposite way, slamming right into the side of the Assembly Hall’s main building. His heart dropped the second he realized what the target must have been, and with the fast-approaching crackles from the blast came an equally fast acceleration of his Tiger right back towards it. [Engaging! Call a retreat of all units away from the Assembly building and get every one of our insiders locked down in those shelters, now!]
[SHIT!] Adrian furiously spat as soon as he heard the network automatically disconnect upon re-entering the jamming zone. [Anyone in range! Someone tell me why the hell no one in Bishop knows what’s going on?!]
One of his crew members eventually came over the reconnected network through interference: [Intercepted messages revealed communication between that pilot named Knight and an Akkadian Naval Laser Switchover Tower!]
[Danger close reported, assuming Union troops or pilots are involved!] Another member added anxiously.
[All ground teams, get away from the Assembly and track down that team! Take down every last one of them!] Adrian roared as he steadied his course for the point of origin of that last blast. [I’ll get that bitch myself like I should have earlier!]