Location: Terra Colony Andromeda
North Sector - Training Field Septa
BattleGroup Blade 1
Time: 1002
January 31, 2050
For a simple training exercise these monthly classes drive it home how much actual stress it takes to be an explorer. Chisuke grimaced, this was a repeated thought of his and he was sure every upperclassmen in the academy shared the sentiment. What was he expecting? For it to be easy? As if.
It took guts to stand your ground as an explorer. They had to fight untold horrors, horrors no sane person could think to kill. Monsters the size of buildings, that were able to shrug off tank fire, and were numberless like the grains of sand on a beach.
But even with several years of experience at the Explorer Academy under his belt, Chisuke couldn’t get the nagging feeling that he was missing a crucial part of himself to truly cross the threshold to graduate. Right now, in the middle of an ever chaotic fight, no, it was a war, he knew he had two choices.
Obey and listen, or go at it alone. Should he just ignore orders and do it himself? He was the best, he knew he was.. All the time back then, in younger years now gone, no one had ever taken him down. That was until life smacked you in the face, that or you're grounded to dust by your own hubris.
Even with how bloodthirsty he was, Chisuke was smart and he knew he could never match the true power of an explorer. They had a part, a gift, a drive, a power, something that he didn’t have. Was it his nature that held him back? Maybe, but why throw it away.
His usual compulsion made ripping into things easier, perfect mentality when fighting monsters. He couldn’t help it, he was himself.
But this wasn’t the time. He could hear and feel the air growing heavier around him. They were coming, his opponents, his prey.
He hoped he had the mind and soul to follow orders, even when he drowned in his raging lust for battle.. He had to get it right this time, he didn’t want to repeat his failures. He wasn’t.. weak.
***
[I repeat! Blade 1! Stand your ground.] That voice over the comms was S1’s. Chisuke should’ve snapped to and said a curt Yes Sir. He didn’t, instead he clicked his tongue.
[You’ve gotta be kidding me!] He yelled, slashing clean through a golem’s arm as it reached at him. The things were popping out of the ground like hedgehogs, there were so many. [Do you have any idea what kind of shit we’re in! We got a hell of a situation here!]
His group had just walked into an ambush. Worst of all, they had encountered an enemy explorer. As students, they stood almost no chance against an opponent like that, especially if they went all out.
[I don’t want to hear it.] S1 said strongly. [I don’t care what your situation is right now, I’ve got 7 other divisions to handle, so listen.]
[Are you fucking serious!] Chisuke objected, though he held the rest of his venomous words in. He breathed, inhaling hard as his eyes flared with a bloody glint. This is why I hate taking orders, just let me fight in peace. It freaking sucks.
After forcing his fist through a golem’s arm, the satisfying crack soothed his nerves. He glanced around, finding Gen and Osamu at his side. I suppose that's the point of today.. I guess.
[I see that you’re calming down, good.] S1 noted Chisuke’s puff of breath from his side of the comm and went on. [Now I say again, Hold the line, stay within 500 meters of the enemy explorer. You can’t let them advance, if you do they’ll have a straight shot to our artillery emplacements.]
Chisuke’s brow twitched in irritation. [And I say again, WE! CAN’T! At least let us move to a better position. We’re going to get creamed at this rate!]
[No can do.] S1 said. [Hold there and wait for support. ETA is 28 minutes.]
[That can’t be right!] Chisuke said. [What about the other battlegroups, what about the rest of Division 8!? Send some of their asses over here to help!]
The comm paused for a second. In that time Chisuke pulled his allies back, retreating up a slope as their mystics, Stella and Amanda, pelted the advancing enemy in scores of fireballs and spears of conjured ice.
Out in front, the CAU trainees’ rifles cracked rapid bursts and popped a number of grenades towards the emerging enemies. But the true threat was farther back. As the enemy golem constructs fell and broke into tumbling rocks, returning to earth as they once were, more took their place, birthing from the brown earth like huge lumbering zombies.
A distant figure sat atop one of the constructs’ enormous shoulders, by the indicator in Chisuke’s HUD there was a 100 meters separating them. That was the enemy explorer and it was hard to believe that a single person had the capabilities to push back an entire battlegroup of 20 in training explorers.
It made some sense if you thought about it. Explorers were the heroes of the apocalyptic war that ended just 2 decades ago. They turned the tide against monsters that were both numberless and brutal enough to reduce the world population from a few billion to less than a million by the waning years of the war. It was a miracle humanity even survived.
The comms finally came to life again and S1 sounded as young yet serious as always, Chisuke hoped he had good news and would send him some support.. but..
[All battle groups of Division 8 are engaged with the enemy as well. Division 1 through 7 have encountered new opposition on the right and left flank. All groups are engaged. I say again. All groups are engaged. Hold position until we can send you support! And keep an eye on that Enemy explorer! Don’t let them escape! Fight’em if you have to!]
The idea of fighting a real explorer enticed Chisuke. It stirred his heart in ways that only he knew. But when he looked at the people beside him he found the first years with their frightened eyes. He empathized with them, only a little.
[..Understood.] Chisuke said under his breath, he disliked the current situation.
Coming in quick an enormous stone arm swung at them. The continuing advance of the towering 5 to 10 meters tall golems had reached a peek. They closed in on everyone from the left, right, and center.
At Chisuke’s reluctant command, Amanda and Richard took to the right, while Ikki, Shisuki, and Stella took to the left, and while everyone else took to the center.
The 10 CAU trainees in their team set up a defensive line from a position up the slope, their rifles pointed out and hailing the enemy with as much suppressive fire they could manage.
In concert, Amanda set out to slow the opposition's advance. Conjuring ice walls to hinder the golems, it gave time for Richard to jump in and drive a wedge in their formation.
Richard’s uncanny ability to take hits and his durability from his manifested powers made him the best tank on legs. He tensed his shoulders as a golem slammed its palm at him, trying to swat him away.
Richard wrestled the tree sized arm and tossed the golem end over end. In his hands, the mass of earth shaped like a blocky statue was no more than a rag doll he could throw around as he pleased. Withdrawing his sword from the belt at his hip, he plunged it through the solid rock of the golem’s chest and the green light of its eyes distantly flickered to nothingness.
Covering him as he moved off, Amanda rained down a hell of alot of ice. She nodded at Richard and he nodded back.
Over on the right, Ikki and Shisuke brought their blades to bear. The glinting streaks of Ikki’s black and white contrasting colored katanas hued stone from stone.
In a swift counter as a golem charged him, he slipped under one of its swings and dismantled it brick by brick. His overall base strength was only above a normal human’s average. Mimicking the herculean strength Richard displayed was impossible for Ikki.
He needed to be smart, he needed to strike at the vital areas, and from his point of view the golem’s joints were the softest areas to focus on. His eyes scanned the golem’s form, noting every detail in stark clarity. For hunks of earth they were well coordinated and moved with a smooth gate.
Shisuki though was smoother, and dashed ahead of him like a waving river. Flipping to the side to evade a golem’s swing at her, dust was thrown up and obscured her. From the haze her drawn aqua blue iridescent blade shined. In a flash after she landed, a sweeping slash ran up and down the golem ahead of her.
The air pitched with a ring, followed by and replaced with the sounds of earthen rock falling and tumbling. As they did Stella drove herself pass Shisuki and Ikki to widen the gap the two had made. Her fiery switch axe clicked, in and over, Stella’s Ignaria formed into an elongated radiant blade of fiery gold.
She slammed it down, cracking the ground, and calling forth flames to engulf the golems. Their bodies broke under the heat, turning to slag or bisected by Ikki or Shisuki. In the month they had all known each other, and the constant hours of today’s training exercise, they had all developed a rhythm.
In Chisuke’s opinion of the first years, they were doing better than most, though that couldn’t be said for one of them. Cowering, the young beast human, Dahlia, yelped as she clutched her staff as if it would protect her.
The Chaos of the battle had scattered everyone into niche groups. Mana, Dahlia’s best friend, kept as close as she could but the growing numbers of enemies drew her away.
Dahlia couldn’t keep up. A fist flew at her and she froze like a deer in the headlight. Chisuke pulled himself over, his nodachi rising up, and crossed with the incoming attack.
He was there in an instant. Overtaxed in his use of self enhancement of his core energy, pangs of pain hit him all over and the reverberation of the hit he took sent his bones rattling. Gritting through the pain his manifested power activated. Bloodthirst!
Aptly named, every hit Chisuke received enhances and empowers his overall strength for as long as he was in combat. A tinge of bloody air encapsulated his form.
“Rah!” With a bellacous cry he pushed and pressed his nodachi through the golem’s fist, his grip tightening around the hilt drawing blood from his palms. The 5 meter golem staggered and was then split into fragmenting rocks with a sudden swing from Chisuke. He swung again, and the air crashed with crimson waves of energy.
Regaining her wits, Dahlia stepped towards Chisuke.
“Y-You’re injured.” She reached a trembling hand out to him. Chisuke glanced over his shoulder. Noticing Dahlia’s intent he stepped away from the approaching green aura she was emitting.
[W-Wait.] Dahlia said. [Wait a minute, you’re injured, I can–]
[Now’s not the time!] Shouted Chisuke. Dahlia flinched back, and this time Mana wasn’t there to catch her as she fell to the ground.
Chisuke regarded her coldly, eyes that seemed to regard her with pity. [Focus.] He said and following his own advice his attention turned to two golems charging at him from the front. Quickly engaging the enemy and letting them hit him once to build his strength, his nodachi then ripped through them with ease. The shed blood that dripped from his hands and his menacing blade struck a savage visage.
Dahlia watched on, helpless, hapless, and scared. The strength she used to hold her staff grew. In frustration she took a brash step forward, on the second step she froze as the sound of the ongoing struggle and strife hit her ears all at once.
[Grah! On the right! Fire now! Now!]
[Ammo at 50%.]
[More incoming! Cover Stella, Quick! Don’t let her get surrounded!]
[There’s too many!]
[Shut it! Remember your training! Keep them off the explorers!]
[No matter what! Keep them covered!]
[Shit! Damnit! I’ll do it!]
The CAU trainees found themselves battling against their own fears. Their bravery showed itself as they were thrown to the side, some injured, some not, but still undaunted on tittering legs.
Dahlia told herself she should’ve been running over to heal them. It was in her power, so why couldn’t she? Why not now? She fought so doggedly only an hour ago, so why didn’t she have the confidence to approach them.
It's because they’re like them. A hateful thought swam in Dahlia’s head, she thought she had overcome it, but it would always be there, taking a backseat in her life. Her face scrunched as if she had eaten a sour lemon, she tried once again to go to them, to fight back against her conscience.
“Oh my, why are you still so idle?”
Dahlia eyes shot open. She noticed that the ground beneath her had been colored in a shadow before she knew it. Something was behind her and had a voice too. She turned and gasped as she looked up.
Dahlia was frightened to find the most enormous and menacing golem in front of her. Just how did it get past everyone? And how did no one notice? And.. Who is she?
Dahlia's eyes tracked up to find a young woman who looked similar to herself. Besides them both being beast humans, the telling features of their antlers struck a united chord. They were of the same kin. The woman tilted her head down languidly while laying on the golem’s shoulder.
Her posture and demeanor was one of a sleepy and relaxed outlook. She was.. strange.. The small smile she wore didn’t reach her eyes. They were looking at Dahlia, but not really looking at her.
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“Heh heh heh.” The woman let out a childish giggle and flicked a long lock of her leafy green hair. The flourish of her cascading hair noted the twitch of her large and furry ears.
“I believe I know you.” The woman said.
Dahlia gulped and it went down slow. “Y-You do?” She asked, her mind was looping between admiring and fearing the woman.
The woman heaved a yawn and said. “I do, perhaps, or maybe not. But I must ask, why are you just standing there, you have a battle to fight and if this were a real fight, I’d have won by now.” The woman closed one of her eyes and leveled the other down at her.
The striking crystal green irises sent a chill seeping into Dahlia’s spine. Those eyes had an unnatural force to them, and Dahlia could only internally comment that woman was like a freak of nature, an unholy abomination, yet she eyes only saw a neatly, though slovenly, dressed woman in a hip length blouse that was inlaid with leafy patterns.
It reminded her of the visage of paints and murals of the Earth Mother. Gaia.
A part of Dahlia kept telling herself that this woman was enchanting, and it scared her for some reason. A second later, Dahlia was lost in the hypnotic design of the woman’s dress. The many patterns of leaves drew her attention, sapping away any resistance to fight. It was like getting lost in the illusion of a familiar forest, a familiar place she knew all too well.
“Pity.” The woman said. “It's too bad, but this line of work isn’t for everyone. You don’t have what it takes.”
Dahlia didn’t hear the woman’s judgmental words, her mind was far too gone. The woman had done something to her, she didn’t know what, but she remembered who this woman was in the final moments of consciousness she had. Yes, Dahlia had met this woman before. Explorers were like heroes and idols, and Dahlia knew many of the iconic beast human explorers.
The woman’s name, the name of her opponent, the enemy explorer, was Haruka C’aribu, better known as the Forest Protector. With the last of dregs of consciousness fading, Dahlia’s lips parted.
Mana felt a disturbance ahead of her. A large amount of core energy had just surged towards her from the explorer in the distance. Only 100 meters away, she looked out for any incoming projectiles and got down to take cover.
The area was mostly flat but there were mounds of defeated golems to use as rubble.
When nothing hit her or made an apparent thump, Mana scanned her surroundings. Something was off. Her eyes kept being drawn to the golems in front of her or the explorer in the distance.
“Mana.. Help.”
A weak and trembling voice reached her ears and suddenly twitched. With a rapid and forceful turn of her head, Mana tore herself away from the battle. It was harder than she thought, why was that? Was she drawn into a battle fever, no.. that wasn’t the case.
Mana couldn’t figure it out right now because what she saw next sent her panicking. [Gen! Osamu! Hold the Center!]
[What? What you..] As Osamu turned to see why Mana had shoved her work over to them, his eyes shot open. He saw an enemy construct right behind everyone, and not just any construct, the enemy explorer had circumvented their formation, yet.. When he looked in front of him there was another explorer who looked exactly the same.
The same clothes, the same features, and the same golem. So that’s it!
Osamu got it. He was clever and knew his way around tricks. Signing a few gestures to Gen, he was telling him to focus their attention on the explorer ahead. Gen nodded and rushed to follow him.
Osamu picked up speed as ran forward and his core energy surged through his hands. The two of them passed Chisuke and drove a hole into the ranks of the advancing golems. Gen unleashed a quick draw resulting in 20 whirling strikes. 10 fell to where they needed to be, while the other 10 missed by a large margin.
A fifty fifty chance, just like Gen had foreseen, or had it only been coincidence. While his attack not enough to eliminate all the golems in their path, Osamu picked up the slack and rushed in, a flurry of purple haze of slashes cut the air. His quick feet carried him up a golem and he drew the blade through the golem’s solid body like a hand through water.
Scaling 5 meters in a second, he disassembled the golems before they knew what hit them. The green embers of artificial life faded first before the golems’ arms fell into scattering bricks and their torsos became nothing but random boulders.
Seeing that they were close enough, Osamu reeled back.
[Hit her now!] He shouted as he produced a pair of kunai. Imbuing the implements with energy, he threw them directly at the enemy explorer. Gen reacted as well and produced an almost transparent white slashing attack that wavered the air as it shot forward with a violent gust.
The explorer’s golem reacted and swatted the two purple sharp streaks to the ground. Gen’s slashing wave was given much the same by the golem’s other hand. It swatted and planted its palm to the ground with a hefty thump, making Gen’s attack become no more than an echo of air.
[Damn! That thing’s tough.] Osamu cursed, he had hoped their attempt would’ve been enough to take one of the golem’s arms. This one was heartier than the others. It was even bigger, a whopping 15 meters tall and the interlocking and laced brick like patterns on its arms made it seem as sturdy as a castle, plus the vines growing across were like a creeping armor of veins.
It was definitely expertly put together. Fearing he was in range, Gen shot back and jumped as the golem took a step forward. As he did, he caught a glimpse of the enemy explorer. She was sleeping, her head leaning on the golem’s lower neck with a long line of drool almost falling off her cheek.
[What the? She’s asleep?!] For a moment Gen could only gawk. Their opponent was sleeping, what was most strange of all was that she slept through all the loud shouting and fighting. Either the girl had earplugs in, or could sleep like a rock.
Heck, he could see the girl sleeping through Chisuke’s ear grating cursing and rampaging at how relaxed she was.
Meanwhile, as Gen and Osamu were tangling with their sleeping beauty at the front, the same beauty was zipping to and fro away from Mana.
Perched on the exact same golem as the one at the front, Haruka lazily flicked her fingers to get the golem to move. For a 15 meter tall walking mound of brick and dirt, it had flighty steps and a grace unlike its lumbering appearance.
Mana was left in the dust. But she didn’t stop. Her eyes were trained on Dahlia, who was held unconscious in the golem’s left hand.
[Let her go!] Mana screamed as she punched out with a clenched and hardened fist. The ground cracked as she smashed into the earth, wholly missing the golem by a single step.
“I think not.” Haruka said. “If you want her, you have to come get her. Come on. You can do it.”
Her taunting tone made it as if she were treating Mana like a puppy. It was demeaning but it was making clear the difference in their level of ability. Mana wanted to call for help but everyone else already had their hands full.
Damnit! How did we let this happen! Somehow, they were caught in a pincer and worst of all one of their teammates was taken hostage. Everytime Mana tried to make sense of the situation, it didn’t seem right, as if this were all fake.
Reality slapped her in the face when the golem did just that. The enormous hand swept at her as she flew up to have a go at reaching Dahlia. The hit sent her tumbling to the ground, her white wings were dirtied as she kicked up dust. The smell of the pungent gun smoke in the air filled her nostrils.
She grimaced, then sniffled again. Only gun smoke? Mana had smelt and sensed a more overwhelming scent and sensation earlier when Haruka had appeared. Then it clicked. Why didn’t this one, the Haruka in front of her, have any scent?
Mana sniffed again to make sure. No scent.
Realzing, she keyed the comms. [Osamu, hey listen, I figured it out. The explorer is..]
[Yeah I know Mana.] Replied Osamu. [I’m working on it.]
[Well hurry up!] Mana demanded. [At this rate we’re going to lose! This fake one at the back can hit back. She’s only toying with me but she’s going to get bored soon.]
[You think I don’t know that!] Osamu groaned and keyed over to the others. [I need some assistance guys, anyone free?]
[I can send Richard.] Amanda said. [Get going, I hold the last of the golems off for now.]
[On it!] Richard said.
[Same here.] Ikki said. [Stella! Shisuki! Keep them off me!]
The two girls replied with green reply signals in Ikki’s HUD. He rushed with Richard and Chisuke launched a raging, blood red wave of serpentine slashes. It drove through and felled the lesser golems in their way.
[Hit’em now!] Chisuke roared to draw the remaining golems on him.
Ikki and Richard leapt up, aiming themselves towards the 2nd Haruka at the front. Meanwhile the other Haruka behind them grinned. “Heh, not so fast.”
The 2nd Haruka’s golem reeled both its hand backs, it was going to clap them both in the air with one fell swoop. But as it stretched its arms out, Gen and Osamu cut in. The golem’s right arm was severed cleanly as a purple crease divided the appendage at the elbow.
The left arm crumbled to dust all of a sudden and Gen laughed uproariously. “I didn’t think that would work.” In his hand, he held a coin that landed on heads. “Lucky me.” He said smugly. While his uncontrollable ability to control luck had its drawbacks, it had its moments where the drawbacks worked in his favor.
With an open shot, Ikki and Richard brought themselves into close quarters.
“Well done.” Haruka said. “But you haven’t won yet.”
As if awakened finally from the presence of their encroaching blades, the 2nd Haruka at the front of the battle opened her eyes. A glimmer of green energy pulsed and permeated her gaze, spilling out as wispy trails of power slipping out from the sides of her eyes. Her assailant's blades were stopped short by an invisible force.
Not only that, Ikki and Richard hung in the air, straining to get free of whatever force was holding them in place. The Haruka at the front got to her feet on the golem’s platform sized shoulder and produced an oaken staff with a swing of her hand. With a devious smile she struck them like a baseball batter.
Thrown back, they fell on their backs, injured and half conscious. Ikki was helped up by Shisuki and Amanda did the same for Richard. Stella covered them as she darted around, imbedding her switch axe through and through any of the lesser golems that began to pop up in greater numbers.
At the same time as the Haruka at the front awoke, the golem and the Haruka double at the back of everyone faded as if it wasn’t real in the first place. Dahlia fell from the golem’s dissipating hand, but before she could fall to the ground Mana caught her. Mana was relieved Dahlia was alright, dazed but not unconscious.
Encroached upon, Stella, Chisuke, Gen, and Osamu held the line as they backed away to regroup further up the sloping hill behind them. The CAU trainees moved ahead and covered them with as much suppressed gunfire on Haruka. But their efforts did little. Every shot bounced off of an invisible barrier only inches in front of her.
The grenade launchers fared better, getting her to cough and choke on the smoke.
[Move back! Move back now!] Chisuke urged everyone to get behind him. They were getting dangerously close to breaking the boundary they were to stay within per S1’s orders. Apparently, S1 wanted Chisuke’s team to keep Haruka in place for a reason he didn't care to elaborate on.
Every bone in Chisuke told him to run or fight, never cower and be passive or defensive. You never won a battle like that. He gulped. [S1! Come in! Where’s that support!?]
By how panicked Chisuke was, S1 fortunately replied quickly. [It’s coming, it’s coming, just hold out for a few more minutes.]
[I don’t think we have a few minutes!] Chisuke launched himself into the vanguard, trying to force Haruka’s golems back. But his efforts borne no overwhelming effect. Every golem got in his way. He brought them down but every one of them was replaced by another Haruka had conjured from the earth around her.
Worst of all, he could feel her power starting to spike. The shimmering of her green blouse and the wavering of her transparent long leafy colored sleeves in the wind casted a pressuring aura that he could only liken to the force of nature itself. It was as if all the earth beneath them was their enemy.
“Heh, I see.” Haruka regarded them with a playful sneer. “So this is as far as you will go. Too bad, better luck next time kids.”
Pointing her staff forward, razor leaves blossomed at the tips of the twisting and flowing branches at the head of her staff. They shot out and pelted Chisuke. He pulled up his sword to guard. Every leaf that broke upon him weighed like a ton and the onslaught brought him to his knees.
His Bloodthirst activated, and he pushed his body to stand. In a struggling repetition, Chisuke’s knees hovered above the ground, falling for a moment but then getting up in staunch resilience.
“So you get stronger every time you get hurt.” Chisuke’s ability intrigued Haruka. “Are you a masochist or something?” She asked, as if expecting a reply in this awkward situation.
Chisuke kept silent and instead commed S1 again, this time his voice was beyond furious even with how much immense pain he was.
[Where.. The Fuck! Is my! Support!]
[Just hold on.] Chisuke was sure S1 was pulling his leg. He swore he’d punch the guy after this.
[2 minutes.] S1 said. [Just two minutes!]
[Ahhh! God Damnit!]
Overhearing, Amanda rushed ahead and produced a wall of ice around Chisuke. It helped but Haruka’s razor leaves made shaved ice out of her barrier. The pace Haruka could destroy her shield was faster than Amanda could form them.
“I think I’ve seen enough.” Haruka said.
To finally end Chisuke’s fruitless struggle, she fired a boulder-sized spiraling razor leaf. It whirled like a drill and shot out, booming in a cannon like roar. It hit Chisuke in the gut and was thrown back.
[No!] Amanda cried out. [Not yet! I can’t let you get past us!] She planted her feet and charged ahead to take Chisuke’s place. They needed time, this was like before, she had to protect everyone, it was her responsibility, they relied on her like how she relied on them.
[Go! Amanda!] Stella came in swinging and opened a path with a burst of fire.
Producing spears of ice as Amanda swung her sword forward, she fired them at Haruka. The projectiles broke and shattered on Haruka’s invisible barrier, it seemed to be impossible to pierce. So if she couldn’t get through, then maybe pushing it back was possible.
Amanda thrusted her sword into the ground and a wall of ice formed a line between her and Haruka. The wall shifted and crept forward like a wave, slamming against whatever Haruka was using as a defense. The golem Haruka stood on staggered, its legs caught and enveloped in ice.
With a sudden jerk, the golem’s legs shattered through the ice, one step at a time.
[Oh no you don’t!] Amanda produced another wall of ice, this use of her power drained her of core energy at a pace unsustainable and her mind fatigued as more and more of her concentration had to be focused on maintaining the wall. Every pressing step Haruka’s golem made had Amanda’s legs faltering.
“Grrr.. How annoying!” Haruka huffed in displeasure at Amanda’s resilience. “I have things to do, you know, don’t get in my way.. Or else I’ll.. huh?”
All of a sudden, Haruka and her golem paused. Their attention was drawn up to the sky. A loud boom caught everyone off guard and then they heard S1’s voice in their ears.
[Your backup has arrived! Get out there! Quick!]
With the booming crack resounding through the air above, everyone’s eyes settled on a light in the sky to the east. It streaked and seemed to be coming towards them.
Amanda’s HUD suddenly displayed a trajectory line, like it usually would when coordinating artillery strikes. This one was aimed right at Haruka and Amanda was in the predicted blast radius.
[Shit Shit Shit!] Amanda hurriedly conjured a wall of ice around herself. She had only seconds before her position was turned into a crater. The others moved back in a hurry as well.
The only one not concerned was Haruka, who kept her gaze on the approaching light and even recognized what it was. It had a silvery light to it and seemed familiar, a friend slash foe identifier suddenly popped up, and her eyes widened.
Time: 1029
Location: Rearguard
Division 1 - Artillery Emplacement
S1 held an old laptop in one arm. He looked at the time and smiled. Now or never, he thought and then gazed ahead as a silver comet shot down to the earth and shook the ground for miles.
[Division 1, prepare all guns! Fire on My Mark!] He barked orders and his men hopped to. Mechanical mobile artillery emplacements raised their barrels, their entrenching legs locking to brace for shock. Shells upon shells loaded and clicked into their chambers. Runners went on their way as well, relaying S1’s commands by hand rather than using the comms.
He could’ve used the wireless means of communication, but he knew not to, that would ruin the surprise. S1 looked over the laptop and pressed the USB stick in its port for good measure. Lines of code ran across the screen, all of it made no sense to S1 but he knew what to do with it. He gazed to the horizon and looked at his HUD’s clock. Time: 1030.
He waited for just a moment, there was a buzz in his ear and S1 patched the incoming message into the laptop. Hearing a voice in his earpiece he pressed enter on the laptop. The lines of random scrolling code finally aligned, turned from black and white to red and green, then the screen went dead as a hum rang throughout the wireless comms.
So that’s what it was. S1’s smile grew larger and he dropped the laptop without a care. It served its purpose for the plan, now he had to do his part in it. He sent out his own signal, this time sure that the comms weren’t compromised.
[All Guns! FIRE!]
[Mobile Artillery Walker - Western Bloc - Core Defense Unit Design]
Description: 3 meters tall with a 120mm barrel that fires at ranges up to 20 miles. Known as the MAW, the little brother of the Tactical Armored Core (TAC). While not maneuverable as a TAC, its lightweight assembly and much less resource taxing needs, deployment of MAWs are far more reaching than the TAC.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/QtG6sCwL/imagewalk.png]