Raptor One - Chapter 7
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I wake up at the blaring of the alarm and the roars of the instructors
Instructor - “Wake up maggots! We have 30 minutes before nightfall! I want all of you prepared to support the front lines in one minute! Those that have Walkers will form a squad and go into the defense lines right now! Move! Move! Move!”
With that i start running while adjusting my clothes and shoulder cannon, the recruits still green are giving me headaches as they are blocking the doors as they exit so i vault over then and with some parkour I'm free to sprint to hangar 12, where Jormungandr, my Walker is located.
Entering hangar 12 with a sprint i see some engineers making last minute checks so i say before i jump into the cockpit that opened after detecting me.
Silver - “How’s the Ammo load?”
Engineer - “Done, Sir, 25000 basic condensed bullets for the kinetic machinegun and 100 Condensed walker bullets for the 155mm kinetic howitizer cannon, and lastly a fully loaded kinetic shotgun each with 60 rounds, a total of 360 Condensed basic bullets.”
I give a nod of aproval and lock in on the skeleton system, as the cockpit closes and Jormungandr rises out of the ground and finally gives me full control, as the engineers rush out of the way.
Silver - “Captain Silver speaking, Jormungandr online and operational, requesting squad data.”
With the sound of my voice over, i hear the system receiving data, so i give it a look.
*Walker Squad info:
Leader – Kurohime – Black cat
Warrior – Jasi – Jumper
Warrior – Silver – Jormungandr
Sniper – None
Support – None
End of report.*
Great, we are working at half capacity with no supporter, luckly it’s within the city so any hazzard can be rapidly controled.
Silver - “Jormungandr here, good hunting Black cat, Jumper.”
Kurohime - “Hey there, Jormungandr, thanks for the assist days ago, now i can focus better knowing my family won’t have problems anymore, now, we are regrouping at the entrance of the military sector, after that where going to pass grid 7 directly to grid 4, we are going to be in the middle of the storm so watch out.”
Jasi - “Roger.”
Silver - “Da, understood.”
Making use of all the training i got i quickly get in the rendesvous point, a minute later Kurohime’s Black cat arrives and take the front of the formation, lastly Jasi’s Jumper arrives too, and after getting into formation we depart to grid 4.
After a fast march, we arrive into grid 4, the depot, where the all the materials and ammo are kept, after kurohime talk to the area commander we get into the massive wall that protects the pilons and the grid city from outside treats.
I anchor down Jormungandr into it’s designated spot on the right of Black cat, as the other two do the same, with a good vision of the outside i can see the eletric net covering the massive wall of the grid city, then i give some zoom and see the night and cold advancing from far away, and hidden in the white of the cold and snow i see many things moving around like a swarm, jumping over one another, waiting the cold to arrive where we are as they come closer with the darkness.
After 5 minutes i finally get a good close zoom into one of the latex beast and don’t like it one bit, they look like a clone of the white spikes! Ugh, this is going to be hard.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
As the seconds pass by our silence is only broken by the arrival of more and more troops, mostly hunters in exoskeleton armor, then we get the Guards in their body armor, and lastly the skimpy clad War maidens taking position where they can behead anything that dares to climb high enough.
As we wait, weapons ready, i try giving a passing scan on the swarm.
*Scan complete, scan acuracy: 75%, number of enemies: five thousand.*
Not a good number, but not a bad one either.
Silver - “Black cat, you know the motive of this attack?”
Kurohime - “Jormungandr, this is only the scouting swarm, they’re here to know the best way to breach our defenSe and know our numbers before they go full on psyco on us, watch out for their spikes, it can chew down even the exoskeleton armor of hunters, so beware of cockpit shots,”
Silver - “Da, Understood, they are on my machinegun range, permission to open fire?”
Kurohime - “Do it.”
With the silent roar of the machinegun, i start hearing the cries of the beasts as the melody of steel start singing, they hunker up showing the plates on their backs and head as they try to advance into the wall, but they are not doing a good job as the bullets pierces easily their armor, this machinegun was costly because it is specific to exoskeleton armor use because of it’s power and kick.
Finally as the cries of death and the melody of steel sing their song, the grid colony is officially in darkness, and the temperature drops sharply and with speed, but before the city starts to freeze to a stop the pilons, start to hum, and static start being released before the pilons open and engulfs the grid city in fog as the ice become vapor in seconds, then the pilons start to thump in a rithmic way, angering the beasts bellow as the city refuses to yeld to the cold.
The beasts of the hive starts to go crazy trying to find ways into the city while shooting spikes at us as they try to climb the wall, inspect the massive reinforced door for weaknesses, and so on in a frenzy.
All i can see are beasts everywhere as i shoot, not leting go of the trigger as my Walker looks left and right leaving bullet traces in the snow as death cries sound bellow and close by as i see a Guard get a spike right into the chest with so much force he is blasted off the wall back into the city, as a cloud of blood mark his last vestiges of existence, as i keep killing i see the beasts in the back line start to form a ball and merge, so i report it.
Silver - “Black car, Jormungandr here, I've spotted anomalous situation in the back row of the swarm, they are grouping and merging, orders.”
Kurohime screams into my ears
Kurohime - “Focus fire on the rear line! Don’t let then finish merging or we’re gonna have Behemoths to deal with! Cannons free! Fire! Fire! Fire!”
That got me by surprise but i stop firing the machinegun and start sniping the merging ball of problems imediately, I'm not the only one doing it as the commander, using a Arachnid Walker is blasting heads left and right while sniping the behemoth cocoons, as we where busy with the cocoons i hear spikes targeting my cockpit so i hunker down and keep blasting, but i hear a cry from Black cat, looking at it i see her cockpit was breached!
Silver - “Black cat! Respond!”
Kurohime - “I - I can’t breath.”
I can hear the panic brewing in her so i try to calm her down.
Silver - “Calm down. Remember the Breach Protocol and follow it. I’ll call the medic team for you, don’t give up.”
I hear her grunt and the click of something locking down as i give a report.
Silver - “Jormungandr speaking, Black cat was Breached, i repeat, Black cat was Breached, requesting immediate medical support! Legs up! Initiating cover fire!”
As i finish with my words i release the anchor mode and move Jormungandr in front of Black Cat, as the space is tight i place the front legs into the protection barrier disrupting the soldiers from shooting and open fire myself.
The Silent roar of cannon fire and machinegun fire rips trough the Beasts bellow without mercy as i keep shooting making a clear death zone, releasing some of the pressure on the area, while the ones that managed to pass and climb the wall was mercilessly pierced by Jormungandr front legs or blasted to smithreens by the shotgun system, but my Walker didn’t get out of this unscated, many of it’s front leg plates was damaged and the front of the cockpit was full of scratches as if it fought with a cat as the spikes ricochet on the visor plates of the cockpit.
After hours of fighting the less than five hundred beast survivors retreat back into the deep darkness, leaving many death and injured, Kurohime got a spike to the gut, but will live, but much of the ground troops did not have the same luck, as almost everyone that was hit was killed, I'm sure this will cause a massive Hive hunt when the nightfall ends, they are too reckless to try and damage this grid city, but they don’t learn.
With Kurohime treated, we go back to our respective hangar bay, now that i think of it, where is Jumper?
Silver - “Hey, Black cat, where’s Jumper?”
Kurohime - “Jumper’s on death’s door.”
Silver - “Critical condition? That only happen in case of breachs or critical system damage.”
Kurohime - “That’s the case, her Walker got a nasty hit in a exposed critical system and it almost cooked her alive, just that lucky hit downed the Walker with almost 50% total damage, all focused on the cockpit.”
Silver - “That’s a heavy loss there, just the radio cost as much as the chassis of the Walker, but at least she’s alive, and the pay is good, she won’t be able to get in the next wave but she will have enought credits to do a full repair on her Walker.”
Kurohime - “And stop skiping her walker repair and maintenance.”
Silver - “Da, that too, see ya later, I'm exausted, i need some rest and will have to give some maintenance on my Walker later, Over.”
Kurohime - “Hey! Give my Walker some repairs too, this time I'll pay.”
Silver - “Sure.”
With that i anchor Jormungandr back in hangar 12 and leave back to base, after finishing my report i go to my bunk to sleep, crazy day....
As i sleep my mind goes back to the battle, remembering the people dying in various ways, their screams of pain and terror as they are launched into the swarm as i was shooting and doing my best to keep the soldiers close to me as safe as possible as blood keep splashing everywere......