The drones did react quickly, but the ones here were really cheap models, even if the AI controlling them seemed pretty decent.  Probably the best way to describe the things was calling them RC cars with guns, the perfect Christmas gift for your world-dominating corporation!  Though backing them up were uniformed security guards, and Lenny felt terribly sorry for them.

    The Hague Declaration and the Geneva convention were just things in history books after all, and the chemogauss rifle was designed to take out heavily armored soldiers and AI controlled drone weapons.  While it was true that the bullets did move quickly and would pass through human targets, the sheer speed that the bullets moved at caused “cavitation bubbles” in the human body as they passed through.  Before it went extinct, there was a sea creature called the mantis shrimp that could punch with the force of an old school 9mm, the shockwave generated from that would knock out or flat out kill its prey.

    The chemogauss was on another level though, the shockwaves generated by the bullet more or less disintegrated human flesh in a baseball sized hole around the bullet, and fucked up anything outside of that radius to boot.

    Still, there was not exactly any other options considering the nature of this mission.  They only had twelve more minutes to blow the line and get the fuck out before CorSec would be on their asses, and you do not want to mess with Corporate Security if you can help it.

    On the production floor, the actual plant itself seemed mundane.  Tools and machines had been left halfway through whatever when the alarms had sounded so aside from the screech of drone wheels, they place was empty.

    Fredrick and Lenny moved quickly towards their objective, the specialized maglev gantries used to construct the sensitive parts of the tanks float system, gunning down drones all along the way.  Up close, the gantry was huge.  Well, it had to be to support an entire tank.

    “You have the charges?” Lenny asked brusquely.

    “You ask that now?”  Fredrick had to laugh at his squadmate as he began setting up the explosives around the machinery, enough to, as Sarge had put it, ‘leave nothing but a smoking crater.’  “No I just decided to come out here with you and enjoy the scenery, instead of the charges I brought sandwiches.  No, you can’t have one.”

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    “Haha,” Lenny grumbled sarcastically, while covering his teammates back.  “Very fucking funny.”

    Suddenly, over the coms they heard the Sergeant.

    “Incoming hostiles,” he was business like as usual.  “CorSec, on the roof.”

    “Oh fuck me,” Fredrick swore.  “Sergeant, we have the charges set, proceeding to extract.”

    “Someone must be on their ass to improve their response times,” Lenny quipped, but his face was grim beneath the suit’s visor.  “Sucks to be a wageslave, right?”

    “At least they get paid, what did you make last year?”

    “Don’t ask, I’ll just be depressed.”

    As they were leaving, black armoured figures dropped from the ceiling, CorSec shock troops.  How the fuck did they even get in from that angle?  Lenny and Fredrick opened fire, moving behind the machinery as cover.

    “Oh shit,” Lenny was actually somewhat worried now.  “Did you see that flash?”

    “Yeah,” Fredrick gritted his teeth.  “That new prototype shielding the brief mentioned.  What was their strategy against it again?  Oh, right, unload on it until they die.  Fuck my life.”

    “Surrender immediately!”  One of the black armoured soldiers called out, “This is MRC property and any trespassing or damage will be subject to litigation!”

    “Sorry, my lawyer is on vacay, so I really can’t deal with that right now!” Fredrick tossed the sarcastic remark along with a grenade, as CorSec scattered the two R.A.D.E. soldiers stood up and fired.  Risky, as moves went, but this was not the time to be picky.

    One soldiers shields overloaded with a popping sound and then he screamed as electricity coursed through him, Lenny’s target lost his shields to and collapsed to the floor moaning clutching the stump where his arm used to be.

    Looking at the crispy CorSec officer it appeared that they had not quite worked out all the bugs yet.  Still, best to leave while they had their chance.

    “Sargent, we are on our way to extract.  ETA six minutes.”