Four hours of sneaking around was finally starting to take its toll on Mai and her people.
Whilst the suits they wore conferred a passive stealth bonus, it was only when they were active that they truly started to earn their cost in bio-mass. Their SOAK conferred some bonuses over a bulletproof vest, but the whole point of the suit being that the wearer shouldn’t be seen.
Mai fretted as she waited for her people to file past her. Word had gotten out that she was back in the culling game, her name all over various channels. And that fact that she was toting hundreds of bio-mass bottles didn’t help.
Every culler in the area was being drawn in as social media exploded, and culler’s supporters started sending them messages.
She hadn’t got any supporters the first time around, not having made enough of an impact. She regretted that now as she scrolled through reams and reams of messages to the cullers pursuing her. Not because she wanted the blatant sycophantic adulation of countless unknown Imperial citizens, but the odd message letting her know she was in danger would be appreciated.
Maybe I’ll pick up the odd follower now? She thought as Biyu went past. Biyu had been at the rear of the line, a position just as stressful and dangerous as being in the lead.
Every ten minutes or so, Mai would have people swap positions, sharing the load amongst them all. It was her turn to bring up the rear.
“All quiet boss. Looks like we gave Team Hillbillies the slip, what the hells is a hillbilly anyway?”
“My guess is as good as yours. Probably some sort of one-miler. They’re gangers after all. Keep moving. I’ll be on your tail.”
Biyu nodded, too tired to say much more, and carried on walking. Both the front and rear element were fifty paces away from the main body of her group. It meant that any ambush would be forced to either engage the middle and risk the lead and rear flanking or settle for killing just one of their targets.
Waiting until Biyu was far enough ahead, Mai closed her eyes and listened. Completely surrendering every other sense she strained her ears, trying to discern whether they were being tracked by an opponent using STEALTH.
Nothing. Still not satisfied, she set off after the rest of her people.
Her footsteps echoed. Each step an echo just after. She stopped. The echoes stopped.
>>>>> Trouble. We have a follower <<<<< she RedFanged her people on a wide channel broadcast.
>>>>> Need help? <<<<<
Biyu replied.
>>>>> No. Keep going. Get to Dakota. <<<<<
Acting as if she hadn’t realised she was being followed she set off again. This time she wrapped her stealth cloak around her, using its passive qualities to blend into the shadows of the poorly-lit concourse she was on.
At one time it had been a merchants' row. Shop after shop had holograms which flickered off and on as they boasted about having the latest in fashion or entertainment. Only this was a two-miler concourse and the wares advertised were at least three years behind the latest trends. Many of the shops were closed, windows poorly repaired where they had been vandalised. In more than one she had seen squatters, or their leavings.
Up ahead was a particularly badly lit section, the blackened ceiling going some way to explaining what had happened. It didn’t smell of burning, so it couldn't have happened recently.
As soon as she was in the shadow she activated FREE RUNNING, STEALTH and URBAN CAMOUFLAGE. Leaping, she grasped a burnt out light, pulling herself up out of sight, balancing on the span like a raptor.
Stilling her breathing she didn’t have long to wait. First one, then another shadow flitted beneath her. She was impressed. They moved well, and in concert.
Not going to save them though, she thought as she lowered herself silently to the ground.
Moving when the shadows moved, she accessed her menu, scanning through until she reached a section she hadn’t visited before. Three further seconds of scrolling she had the weapon she wanted and spent ten per cent of her biomass forming two SHOCKGUNS.
SHOCKGUNS are non-lethal weapons used by loyal Imperial Law Enforcement Officers, bounty hunters and civilian security officers to capture low-level criminals that don’t require lethal methods. They inflict STUNNED, SHOCKED and PARALYSED effects.
They were non-lethal, perfect for subduing opponents. They were also great for remaining hidden since any cull would show up on the minimap of every culler within five hundred paces.
“Wait, did you hear that?” whispered one of the cullers as they moved into hearing distance, both of them freezing in place.
“Hear what?” Whispered the other. “I didn’t hear a thing. You’re imagining things. They’re still up ahead.”
“Couldn’t be more wrong,” Mai relished the gasps of surprise as the cullers started to spin around to face her. They were too slow. Lightning arced from her SHOCKGUNS, briefly framing her targets in a silver white nimbus. They shuddered, twitching violently before dropping to the floor.
That looked really painful, Mai thought as she formed four sets of KwikKuffs for another two per cent bio-mass, nose wrinkling slightly at the smell of loosened bowels. As quickly as possible she used a rope she spun to bind her opponent’s hands and feet, linking them so that it would be harder for them to escape.
>>>>> All done. Moving up now. <<<<<
“Thank the gods!” Dakota pulled Mai into a rib-cracking hug as she finally re-joined her people. “I thought you’d never get here. It’s crawling with enemy cullers. They’re like bloody ants.”
“Don’t suppose they’re too busy killing each other to worry about us?”
“Don’t be daft,” her friend half sighed, half laughed. “Seems they’ve got some sort of alliance going. No killing each other until they’ve killed us.”
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“Right. Well, we’re six hundred paces from the elevator. How hard can it be?” Mai knew it was a stupid question, but she refused to let her pessimism show. All of the rebels were exhausted. Morale was low. And it was her job as their leader to make sure it didn’t get any lower.
“I count at least three hundred cullers in various positions.”
Mai gasped, raising a hand to her mouth. Three hundred cullers, all united in a mission to kill her and her people. It was inconceivable.
“And there’s zero chance of breaking their agreement?” Mai looked over at Dakota who shook her head.
“These fuckers are well and truly united in their desire to kill us.”
Mai looked around at her people. They all looked as tired as she felt. Faces pale, sweat glistening, tongues darting in and out as they wet dry lips, eyes wide, breath coming in shallow pants. She didn’t want to have to lead them into another battle if she could avoid it.
“Let’s look at our minimaps. See if there’s any other way we can get down.”
“Already done it,” Dakota shook her head. “There are no entrances that we don’t know about. And there’s no guarantee that they won’t be guarding those as well. We can’t keep trying to sneak around. If I was them I’d be sending more forces after us through the actual city, forcing us up against one of these blocking groups. Our best bet is to just crack on.”
Crack on. A terribly Lasse faire expression if Mai had ever heard one. It did nothing to express what they were going to have to do in order to get back to Nether City.
“Did you spot any mecha?”
“No, they’re all skin jobs. Probably got heavy weapons. From the ones I’ve scoped out they’re a mixed bunch. Most of them are low scorers. Led by higher scorers. They’re organised, but they shouldn’t be too hard to get through.”
“We’ll need to make sure that they can’t concentrate their fire. Keep moving, engage small groups, don’t get bogged down in a fire fight and keep moving.”
“You’ve already said that,” Dakota smiled.
“Can’t emphasise it more. Hit them hard, punch through, hit the next block, punch through. Keep moving. We’ll bio-boost, get into mecha. I doubt they’ll expect that. So we’ll have a moment of shock factor to get through the first bunch. After that they’ll be racing to change their tactics and weapons.”
Calling her people over, she went over the plan with them, working out the best route to take. Once that was done they chugged down bio-boost, formed their mecha, then chugged even more down.
“Kick in STEALTH, move quickly. Use it for the first engagement, but then save it. We’ll reactivate it again when we get to the final barricade. As soon as I fire, open up with everything you’ve got. I’ll be in the lead at all times. Keep up.”
They all gave her a thumbs up. Sucking in a deep breath, Mai slowly let it out, bouncing on the spot in her mecha as her body flooded with adrenaline.
“Move!”
*
She’d set a timer on her mecha’s head up display. Flicking her eyes over to the corner of the head up display, she saw that they’d been fighting for three minutes. The STEALTH skill had confused their enemies. Naturally, it didn’t make hulking suits of armour silent, but it conferred the ability to affect aiming systems, blurred their outlines and generally made the already hard to kill suits even harder to shoot at.
A culler screamed as she kicked out, the scream cut short as her suit’s foot crashed into their chest, body parts flying in all directions as they were explosively dismembered.
KILL!
CULLER 684594 ELIMINATED!
She’d already added five previous kills, levelling up yet again and climbing up the scoreboard.
“We’ve got another one hundred paces people! Keep up the pressure!” She raised a huge shield she’d formed, leaning into the weight of enemy fire as if it was a strong wind. The cullers were starting to get over their shock and redeploy, but they still weren’t truly working as a team, each one of them more focussed on getting the kill than truly working together.
Someone kills me, they’re going to fly through the scoreboard, she thought as she sucked on her bio-boost. They all had extra bottles in their suits, vital if they were to keep their suits repaired. Still, double-edged sword as it’s going to make them targets once we’re through.
“Rockets!” The warning came just in time. Mai dove to the side as a rocket-propelled grenade shot past, trailing smoke behind it. The explosion showered her with debris, but she barely even registered it over the sound of all the other bullets hitting her.
Three cullers stepped out of an alleyway, blasting away with assault rifles. A quick twitch of her arm and a burst of fire from her minigun blew them apart.
KILL!
CULLER 395888 ELIMINATED!
KILL!
CULLER 029685 ELIMINATED!
KILL!
CULLER 827388 ELIMINATED!
Dakota sprinted past her, taking the lead. Mai cursed, she’d told them she was going to be point man. Only when what looked like a heavily converted ground car came skidding into view, sparks flying as it ground against a wall, did Dakota’s action make sense.
The ground car had a crew of three. One was the driver, who was popping away at them with a pistol now that the ground car was stopped. He was no threat. The real threat was the large laser on the back of the ground car which the other two crew members were aiming in their direction.
“What the hells!”
Dakota turned her charge into a slide, sparks shooting up from the pedway as her armour gouged finger-deep funnels in it. In one smooth movement she converted the slide into a power jump, leaping directly up into the air above the ground car.
The crew’s mouths opened in shock as they followed Dakota’s path. Too late they started to move as they realised what was coming next. Dakota’s suit crashed down onto their position, smashing the laser to pieces, and pulping them. With contemptuous ease, she plucked the screaming driver from their seat and flung them into the nearest wall. They hit so hard they left a bloody outline as their corpse dropped to the floor.
“Move on up people!” Dakota let rip with her miniguns, racers streaming towards the next targets, blowing cullers and cover alike apart.
Head down, Mai pumped her arms, forcing her mecha up to its top speed. Shield still raised, she soaked up a rocket attack, staggering slightly from the force of the explosion, turning that into a spin which allowed her to lay her sights on another group of cullers.
KILL!
CULLER 594839 ELIMINATED!
KILL!
CULLER 002384 ELIMINATED!
KILL!
CULLER 4446598 ELIMINATED!
Her shoulder-mounted battle shotgun made easy work of unarmoured cullers at such short range. Its shells fired the equivalent of twenty .45 calibre bullets each shot, the heavy slugs shredding the flesh from her targets in large clumps.
“They’re starting to break!” called out one of her team. Ardrenalised to the max she didn’t register the voice, just the words. Looking at her minimap she saw it was true. Filled with culls, she could see where groups of cullers were pulling back.
“Shift to the next alleyway and cut up, the group guarding it has gone, we’ll be able to flank the last one guarding the entrance.” She followed her own order, bouncing off the walls of the alley as she charged headlong into it.
It was tight, almost tight enough that she wondered whether activating her TUNNEL COMBAT skill would have any benefit. Deciding it was best to leave it until she truly needed it, she followed the guideline around a corner.
Out in the open, no more than twenty paces away was the entrance they needed to Nether City. Cullers had created a makeshift barricade in front of it.
“STEALTH up people! Last barricade ahead!” Checking her minimap she made sure they were all close behind and then charged out into the open, all guns blazing. Biyu had added a flamethrower to her suit. As soon as she reached the barricade she unleashed hell upon their enemies, washing the barricade with a wall of flame so intense that Mai’s suit automatically darkened its visor so that she wouldn’t be blinded by the intensity.
“What the hells!” cursed Dakota, patting at the spot of her armour which was aflame. “It’s damaging me!”
“Inferno Cannon, guaranteed to reduce everything and anything to ash,” replied Biyu, suit standing over the remains of the barricade. There was no need to move, her weapon having killed every single one of the cullers sheltering behind it. Mai was hard pressed to even identify corpses.
“Good job, how about we get these supplies back?”