Raptor One – Chapter 69
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I growl a little while taking inventory of what i have before heading deeper into the train...
Equip - (High Energy Railgun Pistol)
Ammo - (15/15)(4/5[Mag])
Special - (Needle Gauntlet)
Ammo -(5/6[Toxin])
Special - (Retractable Tower Shield)
AP -(2/20[Shield])
Special - (Portable Medicine Maker)
Ammo -(25/25[Heal])
After taking stock of my items i take a look at my armor diagnosis....
Helmet – (10/10[AP])
Torso - (10/10[AP])
Left Arm - (0/10[AP]) - Warning area breached!
Right Arm - (10/10[AP])
Left Leg - (10/10[AP])
Right Leg - (10/10[AP])
I frown after remembering the damage to my left arm from the hive zerg, i had to forsake defense to hit it, it managed to heavily damage my left arm, i only got a shot at it because the modular plating was ripped off, letting me hit the hive zerg on the chin with my needle gauntlet.
A costly victory.
I groan at Alexei who is all sobs besides me, eyes wide and full of tears while looking at the heavy damage on my left hand.
“Why did you take this form if you are such a wimp?” I growl out in frustration while keeping a eye on the other end of the train.
“I... I’m psionically active... That’s why i decided to take this form... Metal disrupt psions...” Alexei reply sobbing and i just sigh at her.
“Da, just give me something to get the Primals out and open the doors... if they still exist that is.” I growl out and sigh, ready to walk inside the area.
“Wait! You’re going inside? They’ll kill you!” Alexei say while holding my left hand.
“Grrr... I can solve this, just hurry up, bystro.” i growl out at Alexei and she gives me a card.
“Here, here! It’s the master card for the lab and storage!” Alexei hurriedly says.
“Now move. Bystro. I don’t want to babysit your life again.”
I start walking, pistol up deeper into the train.
Alexei’s running footsteps reach my ears as she moves to the front end of the train, sound of doors being closed also reach me.
I sigh after passing the destroyed door, There’s blood and coolant everywhere, i find three corpses and my sensors starts beeping right away!
“*Downed Ally detected! Revival timer adjusted!*”
I rush to the closest one as i holster my pistol, it’s a male guard, damage can be seen everywhere but his head is intact.
I start scavenging for pieces to make a simple life support while reanimating the guy by using my medic gun on his brain.
In record speed i manage to salvage his battery and some lightly damaged components to make the simple life support system and attach it to his brain network, solving the problem.
I rush to the second nearest one, also male, cyborg, heavy damage, head untouched, neck destroyed.
I rush for the ripped off limbs and salvage enough components to connect his torso and head back together, his body starting emergency protocol on it’s own when detecting his brain.
Rushing for the last one i see a mutilated female, half zerg, scientist.
With the help of my medical gun and portable medicine maker i drag her soul back into her mostly recovered body.
I sigh after seeing the girl torso resume it’s normal humanoid function and get up, i look at my hands and see it coated in coolant and blood, so i shake it away and take my pistol again with both hands before running again.
The other side’s door is also destroyed, claws and sharp bites.
I walk inside with caution, weapons up, this area is also a very damaged lab, while walking by the damaged equipment i hear something move behind me so i decide to trust my instincts and roll forward, something flies in front of me while i take a kneeling stance, pistol up and see a zergling, the same zergling that managed to flee, moving out of aim so it’s back won’t be exposed.
I hurriedly get up, it’s a fight.
I keep track of the location of the zergling while moving, i know it’s very close.
Finding myself cornered i decide to jump backward, a gliding leap, and see the zergling, rushing under dozens of lab equipment, i do a flip mid air and shoot at the zergling, my shot goes wide as the zergling dodge the slug with ease, but the movement stall the zergling enough for me to take distance.
I open fire right after landing, forcing the zergling to dodge the shot and making us enter a deadlock.
I’m now under the door, pistol locked on the hiding zergling.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
I hunker down after moving two steps further so i can prepare to tackle the leap I'll get, and just as i thought i did get a leaping strike.
With pinpoint accuracy i manage to land a shot at it’s unprotected stomach, zerg blood splash everywhere as it lands and rolls very close to me, downed.
As soon as the zergling landed i got up, ready to strike, when it rolled almost beside me i tried to stomp it like a cockroach, it tried to get up but did not manage to get up in time.
*Thump!*
The boot of my power armor strike it’s head with strength but did not finish it as i feel it struggle, so i lift my feet again and bring it down.
*Thump!!*
I feel it’s bones rattle but still struggles so i do it again.
*Crunch!*
I feel my feet sink in as zerg blood fly off along with brain matter, the struggling zerg now just a pulped corpse with a destroyed head, i shake off the blood out of my feet before walking further inside.
I’m glad i did not have to retreat again, the three saved people would be in danger if i had to step back again.
I sigh and take my current magazine out of my pistol...
12 rounds...
I grunt and place the magazine back inside my pistol while walking forward, avoiding things that would make noise and alert more enemies to my presence before i manage to rescue at least one primal zerg.
I speed up after needing to walk over the destroyed metal door, it’s pieces making awful noises but i did get into the storage area.
A quick look give me the location of several holders, all with hatched primal zergs inside.
“Now we are talking.” I growl out and grin before looking at the other side, the door for some miracle is still standing, giving me enough time to think and act before the movement on the other side decide the door is a hindrance to their journey to my mostly meaty body.
I groan as i think in overdrive, trying to find a way to fight the group of zerglings and liberate the primal zergs...
I see that most primal zergs are too young to fight, and would be slaughtered by the hivers, but i still have to liberate the little ones from their cages, on the other side should be the last surviving group of zerglings... From the damage to the cage i see that the last batch of zerglings hatched from a single surviving egg, that means each egg should hatch two to three zerglings each.
Lets hope only one egg survived on the second and last storage wagon.
With my thoughts done i start opening the cages with the primals, due to the damage to the train, the system keeping the eggs in stasis broke, letting all the eggs hatch.
As soon as i finish opening the last cage i hear the door being hit, many sounds resound, damage evident on the door as it slowly bent inward while other parts get ripped off.
I have two micro turns to persuade the little ones into helping, and that’s wat i do.
“*Little guys, help here.*”
The moment i try to talk they start to do mischief, ignoring the door that is about to fall and some even bite my ankles, something of which i watch with surprise and a small amount of laugh.
Looks like i need to get rough and feral or they will think I'm playing around.
“*Ready for combat!*”
I give a growling roar that finish in a loud and thunderous psionic howl, all the primal zergs stop and get ready to fight, their own howls and growls reverberating inside the wagon, the others on the other side of the wagon also give signals and try to break their cages, most manage to succeed as i hear the sound of cages breaking.
And just in time, because the door finally fail and breaks down, showing three zerglings, all three surrounded by primal zergs.
“Looks like I'm in luck, only one egg survived the sweep.” i growl out to myself and get ready to fight.
With all three zerglings surrounded they will have problems to engage me making the fight easier but they will take some time to kill.
I open fire at one of the less prepared zergling, it hunker down and receive the slug, it’s bone armor cracking into pieces making it’s blood fly while the blast throw it into the ground, the primal zergs that are surrounding it took the opportunity and started tearing at it’s flesh, worsening it’s state further.
This one won’t survive.
I prepare the next shot and watch as the two surviving zerglings advance in my direction, the first one manage to flawlessly dodge and leap over the small primal zergs that tried to keep it at bay, the second zergling also managed to advance in a much less graceful way.
I open fire after one of the zergling got slightly distracted by a feint of one of the primal zergs puppies, the shot was not square center but still managed to transfer the full blunt of the slug, breaking it’s bone armor and making the zergling have a very bad bleeding, the primal zergs around it also took the chance and got some feral bites out of the zergling, bringing it to the brink of death as it tries to fight off the attacking primal zergs.
I watch the last untouched zergling, it try to advance but the fierce attacks from the primal zergs keep it at bay, making it waste it’s energy and place a feral grin on my mouth.
I take the chance and open shoot my pistol in it’s way, the zergling being completely surrounded could only hunker down and tank the hit, direct center and full impact, but the bone armor managed to defuse the extra damage before crumbling to pieces, the blast did affect it heavily letting the surrounding primal zergs attack it while dissoriented, tearing it apart.
With two of the three zerglings dead i just watch the last one resist while bleeding heavily, the wall of primal zergs enough to surround it three times.
It’s effort don’t last long before the zergling wobbles from loss of blood, enabling a small space of time for the attacking primal zergs to pin it down and rip it apart, it’s cracked bone armor useless due to the heavy impact damage.
I watch as the small primal zergs eat the last two zerglings, my mind drift back to my fading humanity, is it okay to let go of my old life completely? Should i really embrace what i am now? A chimera of biology and technology...
What am i?
I ask myself while resting my back on the suspended egg storage.
By my knowledge, i am Avali, i am Transfur, and i am a zombie, all three are biological, one a race, the other a virus. And the last one a plague.
On the side of science, i am a nanite slime, a reincarnated human, and Artificial Intelligence.
One is a experiment, the other a dimensional error, and the last one is a controlled reworking of my being.
I’m a being born from logic, and graced by unparalleled instincts.
Logical yet instinctive.
“ugh...” i groan out at my existential crisis and open my eyes.
I’m surrounded by primal zergs, the ones that failed to scape was helped out and are now around me, i see many of the small ones trying to comfort me, maybe they felt my plea, a psionic can be a open book to another at times.
I sigh and move out of area, after making sure there was no left over i lead the primal zergs back to the upper wagons.
“Alexei, still alive?” i ask out while walking.
I’m met with a very awful static, what’s happening?
“Sigma?” i ask out.
“*I’m here, electromagnetic wave detected, communications offline, Raptor One Deactivated for safety, pack status: Safe inside the drop module.*”
Sigma gives me a heads up of the situation, it seen I'm locked here for the next medium cycle, i didn’t think this small incursion inside the train would take this long.
“*Sigh* Let’s hope the crew of the train don’t shoot me... Or the little guys.” i growl out while walking. “Hey! Those are friendlies! No touching!” i snarl out at the primal zergs that took interest at the three downed persons i rescued, the female scientist is already awake, but still needs better care.
She looks at me and the group in wonder as we pass by, the group ignoring her and the other two downed guards, the small ones jumping around and making a ruckus while following.
After passing another two wagons i decide to stop because of the wall of terrified crewsmen pointing their guns my way.
“ALEXEI! GET OVER HERE BYSTRO!” I howl out in a feral manner, she appear close to the guys in formation, the guys pointing their guns at me got terrified even more, but a good stare and a growl managed to convince that shooting is not a good idea.
“I got the surviving zerglings, now you choose, let me go with the small ones and survive or block my way and get ripped to pieces by the alpha along with the train.” I growl out while feeling threatened, i just hope my pack did not repair the tracks yet.
I think the alpha won’t let then do it because humans do like to be traitorous most of the time.
“Put down your weapons! NOW!” Alexei roar her frustrations at the crew, they immediately do so while Alexei walk closer to me in a somewhat nervous manner.
“Sorry for this, don’t worry, i got to talk with my superiors about the situation before the storm hit us, they gave me the ok to let you proceed with the plan.” Alexei say and give a nervous smile at me, not daring to get closer due to the growling primal zergs around me.
A wave of my hand makes the small ones lose their tension.
“What’s the plan? I can’t go out with this storm howling. And get someone to rescue the three persons i saved, they are on the less damaged first lab wagon.” i sigh and walk over with the small ones, passing the nervous group with Alexei on my side.
“Our crew have a more specialized equipment for this, I'll send out a task for rescue... Done.” Alexei responds before going silent.
I sigh and rest beside the train’s exit door while being surrounded by mischievous primal puppies, wondering about how effective my way of combat was, so i decide to think this through while resting with Sigma....
I’m temporarily stranded here anyway...