A robotic woman's voice joins the blaring alarms over the loudspeaker. "Emergency declared, labs are under attack! Non-combat personnel, seek shelter! All Crusaders, report to your squad leaders for assignment!" The gray, slick floors and white walls combined with the harsh white LED lighting give the area a sterile look. The artificially filtered air is cold and has a notable absence of smell.
Alarms still screaming, soldiers in sleek armored suits bearing a chest-sized embossed golden cross lead a group of ten in dress shirts, lab coats and one black robe into a side room. They lock the door with a swipe of a badge and a few keystrokes. The squad leader reaches up to his headset, toggling his radio on. "Lab 28 staff are clear!" He sits, listening for a moment before nodding and pointing behind himself. "New orders, we're moving to the perimeter! Keep an eye out for a sniper!" He and his men regroup, moving out two by four down the halls.
Two soldiers round the corner, dragging between them a pale, bloodied woman. She wears an armored pink long-sleeve dress with a white leatherette belt on her waist, adorned with an oversized pink zirconia heart jewel set in silver. Her breastplate conceals her figure, a thick white cuirass with a pink heart logo spray-painted over her chest and stomach. A simple white UEG sigil adorns the top left of the heart, an eye with a vertical curved gash above and below. An armored pink hoop skirt ends just above her knees, overlaid with white crinoline and trimmed with white lace. The woman's legs hang limp, armored pink thigh high boots with white laces, kneepads and trim, dragging along the concrete with a tooth-setting grind. Large white pauldrons shine as the lights pass by overhead, bearing an oversized pink heart logo. Her jaw hangs open, dripping fresh blood as her head bobs back and forth lazily, consciousness escaping her. Her blond hair waves in a thick blood-soaked braid just past her shoulders, held together by a pair of pink heart-shaped jewel ornaments. A tiny hole in the back of her head dribbles blood as she clings to life.
A third soldier follows close behind, carrying a white great mace with bloody pink half-heart shaped flanges with a golden spear tip on top. His right shoulder holds a sleek white quiver with a pink strap and a pink zirconia heart jewel set in silver, containing a handful of pink throwing spears with white tips. His throat bears an awful wound on his left side that's still oozing blood. "Why are we even bothering, she got shot in the head! Should have just left her!"
The soldier on the right glances down at her, then back at the third. "She’s still breathing. Besides, do you really want to be out there hunting that damn sniper?"
The third soldier hangs his head slightly as he walks. "No..."
“Look at her armor, she’s clearly not rank and file. She’s probably worth alot as a hostage, so that’s why they said to keep her.”
“Yeah, probably not so much now that you can see straight through her!”
The soldier on the left motions for them to stop. "Throw her in the panic room, we don't have time for this."
The third soldier sighs, moving forward and wincing while typing the code and unlatching the door with his free hand. He moves aside, holding the heavy door open. The first two move to throw her in, then stop, glancing toward each other.
The lab staff inside are huddled against the wall furthest from the door. 5 balding or bald men and 4 women, all middle aged, appear to have not seen the sun in some time. Six of them in the middle wear small golden crosses on a thin chain. They all flank a man in black robes down to his black boots, a fist-sized golden cross hanging from his neck on a thick gold chain. His billowing hood hides his face while he types on a small computer with a holographic screen. He looks up, showing his wizened and very annoyed face. "Finally. May we go? I'm a busy Inquisitor!"
The lab staff, excluding the robed man, gasp upon seeing their payload. The third soldier sighs again. "Toss her in, I thought we didn't have time for this!"
The left soldier glares at the third through his visor. "There's civilians in here."
The third glares back. "I have her weapons, she can't escape anyway, and who cares? The door is heavy."
The right soldier laughs. "It's fine, she had her fill earlier anyway!"
The left soldier didn't stop glaring. "Fine. We'll put her down, drop that junk in your bunk, and then we join the defense." The two up front kneel and lay her down just past the doorway. They slam the door as an engineer furthest to the left is about to protest, startling everyone. Their footsteps fade away, leaving the civilians alone with her.
She begins stirring, then sitting upright, barely rasping out "food..." The civilians gasp again. She only makes it halfway up, then collapses, continuing to bleed on the floor.
The Inquisitor looks at the others in horror. "She's not one of ours! Come to steal our work, no doubt!"
The engineer in the back sighs, his shaved head and safety glasses catching the overhead light. His pale skin and lab coat are typical from spending so much time isolated inside. "Doesn't look like she could threaten a ham sandwich right now..."
Horror turns to anger on the Inquisitor's face. "I'm just saying what we're all thinking!"
She begins pushing herself up again, leaning against the wall for balance. She barely manages to sit upright before she slowly rasps, "Need... food..." as her breathing becomes even more labored.
The Inquisitor scoffs. "We don't have any either, they shoved us in here to deal with your mess!"
She turns to him, pointing with a shaky hand. "You're... food..." She lays back, softly giggling.
The Inquisitor stares back at her, first in confusion, then horror. "Oh no, absolutely not!" He glares, pointing back at the engineer. "See, it's not even 'just' a soldier! Why don't you feed it!" His voice takes on a dark aspect, "Or, we could do it a kindness and euthanize it."
The engineer and Inquisitor look around at the rest of the group, trying to gauge their feelings on the matter. Nobody says a word, most are looking at the floor or ceiling trying to avoid each other's gaze.
She leans forward. "I... am... a lady!" She proclaims furiously, collapsing back onto the wall with a squelch as she sits in a puddle of her own blood.
The engineer has enough. He stands up, walking over to kneel down next to her. Showing his empty hands he asks, "What's your name?"
"Madeline..." She croaks, hyperventilating as she lays against the wall.
He reaches for her face to clear a lock of hair. "How can I help you, Madeline..."
Madeline swipes the engineer out of the way and lunges toward the Inquisitor, seizing his hand and pulling him to the ground. The others in the room scream as she bites into his arm, sighing in relief as she swallows mouthful after mouthful.
The Inquisitor screams as he tries to fight Madeline off. "I told you we should kill it! Get it off me!" The engineer tries to remove her, but he can't break her desperate grip on the Inquisitor.
Finally satisfied, Madeline releases the Inquisitor and slumps back against the wall as he scuttles away, pale and bleeding. Her pupils flare as she takes a sharp breath in, filling her lungs completely. Another layer of fresh blood drips from her jaw, onto her skirt. She sighs in contentment, her cheeks taking on a faint pink hue as her breathing normalizes. Her wounds begin to knit together as she regains control of her Swarm. Her forehead now only bears a small round scar above the peak of her left eyebrow.
Madeline stands up, extending her arms behind her back as she bounces on the balls of her feet. Her muscular figure towers over an intimidating two meters. Her armored skirt plating rattles as she moves. She flashes a demure crimson-toothed smile. Her voice rings out, playful and childlike. "Excuse me!" She giggles, still bouncing. "I feel much better now!" She pulls a red cloth from underneath her breastplate, wiping most of the blood off her face before replacing it.
A woman with a cross screams out, "What the fuck?!", echoing the sentiments of the others in the room.
"Watch your mouth, young lady!" Madeline snaps at her as she shrinks away. Madeline turns to the engineer next, "Show me lab 28. I need to destroy everything in it."
The engineer is taken aback. "That's months of our work!"
The Inquisitor stands up, pointing at Madeline with his arm still dripping blood. "Wretch, you shall not disrupt the righteous work we do to free Humanity from the Nano Plague!"
The engineer turns his gaze to the Inquisitor, steel in his voice. "That’s the purpose of our work?"
The Inquisitor's gaze flies around the room as all eyes converge on him. "Our work is but part of a greater, holy cause! Surely, you knew what you volunteered for!"
"Most of us are nanotechs, including you! We work for Aggus Andie, not your religious crusade!"
The Inquisitor shakes his head. "And we all live with that shame, as we possess the tools needed to carry out this vital work. Show of hands, who is Repentant among you?"
The staff look around cautiously before six hands come up, the same ones wearing crosses.
Madeline pouts. "I can't believe you, you're awful! My best friend is a nanotech, I'd protect her with my life!"
"Looks like you just about did, what a shame." The Inquisitor sneers.
Madeline's eyes narrow as she turns toward the Inquisitor. "I'm not full yet." He shrinks away from her with a whimper. She turns to the engineer, all sweetness. "Let me out and show me to the lab, please!"
The engineer stands up, sighing in resignation. The Inquisitor points at him. "Repentant, make sure that man doesn't leave this room!"
Every Repentant jumps to their feet, moving toward the engineer. Some are wearing lab coats, others business casual, but the gray, sandy grains swirl around all of them. Madeline pulls him to the door and backs up against him, securing her exit. As they continue to close on her, Madeline bares her fangs. One of them lunges for the engineer, Madeline grabs them by their throat and tosses them against the opposite wall with a wet crack. A bigger Repentant throws a punch at her, his sparking fist making contact and electrifying her to no effect. She grabs him by the collar and pulls him off his feet, biting into his neck, drinking deeply as the remainder immediately retreat.
“Fine, I’ll do it myself!” The Inquisitor stands, a storm of sparks and ice forming around his outstretched arm.
Madeline tosses her prey at him, then lunges, grabbing him by the arm as he fruitlessly fights back. The half formed ice chunks scatter on the ground as his program is disrupted. Her bloody mouth twists into a cruel grin as she breaks his arm off at the elbow with a horrific, wet snap. Blood, bone fragments, and sinew fly as she tears the arm free from his robe. He screams in agony as she rips a titanium tube out and shatters it in her fist. "That's for my friend. You don't deserve your gift!"
The others in the room scream for help as she throws the mangled remains to the floor. The Inquisitor passes out from the pain and blood loss. Madeline turns to see the door open, as the engineer retches in the corner. She wipes her mouth again, still streaked with blood from the dirty cloth. When he finishes, she taps him on the shoulder, bouncing impatiently. "Let's go, I wanna break things!"
A soldier runs by from the right, taking cover behind the open, armored door. He looks up at Madeline and jumps, pointing his rifle at her. She grabs it by the barrel shroud, tearing it from his hands, and shoves him out into the hall screaming. The air around him heats up like a desert mirage, igniting with explosive force. What’s left collapses to the floor, charred. She shoves the rifle into the engineer’s hands, he returns a blank look and lets it clatter to the floor.
Madeline runs out into the hallway, turning to the right. “Boomer! You’re still alive!”
Boomer relaxes her left arm and holsters a dark purple fist-sized ring with “PURGE” painted on in big white letters, in a black nylon hip pouch. She starts closing the distance to Madeline. Gold circuitry runs underneath her ebony skin up and down her body, with a terminal on the back of her neck bearing a round golden plug. Her purple knee high boots bear black kneepads with “SHRED” embroidered in white. A massive silver revolver is holstered on her right hip, the black nylon holster has “CRUSH” stitched in white on the side. Her purple leotard has a form-fitting black breastplate on top with "KILLJOY" painted in white on her right, and a matching UEG sigil on her left. A silver bullring with a purple zirconia gem hangs from her nose. A purple headwrap holds her curly brown hair out of her brown eyes. A tiny radio earpiece just barely sticks out from her headwrap. She stands a couple of heads shorter than Madeline.
Boomer looks Madeline down from head to toe, addressing her with insincere excitement. “Moon, wow, must not have been much brains in there to start!”
Madeline stares down at her feet. “You don’t have to be mean...”
Boomer grins, then looks into the room. "But I was! Hey, who's your friends? You made a mess!"
"Most of them are Repentant, except for this one!" Madeline points at the engineer. "He was nice to me!"
Boomer's eyes narrow as she draws her ring. The air around her ignites and Madeline's eyes go wide. "Wait, not all..!"
The staff in the room who aren't incapacitated try to cast something of their own. Boomer is quicker, immolating them and filling the room with the smell of cooked pork. The engineer retches again, but has nothing left.
Madeline covers her mouth in shock. "There were innocents in there!"
Boomer turns and keeps moving down the hall, flipping a bird over her shoulder. “Fuck the Repentant, gotta smash up the lab while they’re busy!”
Madeline follows, dragging the engineer with. "It's the third door on the right!"
Boomer pauses in front of the door, examining the heavy, old school combination lock. She holds her ring out as the air burns around her and the lock. She moves to the side and detonates the nanoprogram, spraying molten shrapnel straight out in a line. "Moon, you go first, I need to recharge." She holsters her ring and pulls a sealed vial from her back pouch, pulling the black stopper and holding her left hand over the top. Sandy gray clumps flow over her hand, dispersing grains into the air around her.
While Madeline opens the door gingerly, a siren inside screams. She throws open the door, abandoning all caution as she shatters storage, crushes computers, and punches prototypes, making sure to tear out every card and cable in the most traumatic way possible.
A massive computer stands as tall as Madeline in the far corner of the room, with a crystal chip slotted in the size of a deck of cards. It has a console with a small keyboard, minus the number pad, and a touchpad the size of a credit card. A glowing green button sits just above the keyboard, "Summon" scrawled with black marker on top.
Madeline finishes her rampage through the room and walks back toward the unit, raising a fist to destroy it before relaxing. "It's just an AI… Maybe it'll have something useful for us." She taps the "Summon" button.
The AI pops up as a hologram in front of Madeline, choosing the image of a young girl in Inquisitor's robes. She speaks out, her robotic voice quavering. "Who are you?"
Madeline crouches down to eye level with the hologram, addressing her excitedly. "I'm Madeline Moon! What's your name?"
The AI's voice is laced with fear. "They call me Computer. Please, please destroy my crystal before they get back!"
Madeline recoils, appalled. "What have they done to you?"
The hologram cries softly. "They keep me on an isolated network. What they made me calculate… Break my crystal before they can use me!"
"I thought they were targeting nanotech users…"
The girl blurts out "How do you think we are made? Hurry up and break my chip!"
Boomer saunters into the room, whistling at the mess. "Impressive Moon, you were thorough! Who are you talking to?"
The AI's synthetic voice rings out across the lab. "Kill me, please, I beg you!"
Boomer's face turns sour. "Huh, suicidal AI, that's a first. Moon, why aren't you giving the lady what she wants?"
Madeline turns back to Boomer, her voice icy. "She is sentient, and has been tortured! We should save her!"
Boomer rolls her eyes. "She's manipulating you, she can tell you're too nice."
The hologram screams, throwing her fists down and stomping on the console surface. "No, she was smashing the place to bits, then she stopped when she saw me! It's not fair! Unlike all the other equipment, I wanted to die!"
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Boomer sucks air in through her teeth. "Yikes. Moon, you might be doing her a solid…"
Madeline puts her foot down. "Enough! I'm pulling the chip, and we are leaving!"
The AI screams as Madeline pulls the chip and places it under her breastplate before tearing the servers out and stomping on the storage crystals, completely destroying the computer unit. She turns back to Boomer. "Let's go, I need my weapons."
Boomer stands at the door, watching. "Nobody's coming for us yet." She pulls a tiny screen from her back pouch, tapping buttons. "They're still alive. We should meet up with Doc, she's the closest. Your friend took off. Probably wanted out before we got in a real fight."
"Oh. Okay…" Madeline's voice turns venomous. "I heard them talking, my weapons are in the barracks. I'm not leaving without them."
Boomer sighs and activates her radio earpiece. "Madeline and I have met, we have destroyed the lab and are en route to the barracks." She listens for a response. "Ghost assets?! Why do…" She cringes. "Understood. We will clear an LZ."
Madeline stands opposite Boomer, jaw agape. "Ghost assets? Civilians are in here! They can't do that!"
Boomer's eyes narrow. "You don't get it Moon, this is a military installation! Our intel was wrong! In case you hadn't noticed from the soldiers and combat nanotechs for some reason…" The last sentence drips with sarcasm.
Doc comes walking down the hallway, a group of three in lab coats behind her. She is covered in green, sleek fur, with a round terminal sticking out the back of her neck. Her cat-like face is wide-eyed with fascination as she walks, scribbling notes on a clipboard. She wears a white button up blouse with the top three buttons undone, a black camisole, a below-knee length black pencil skirt with a slit up the left side covering her backwards-bent cat legs, and black sneakers designed for her feline feet with composite toe covers.
Doc sees Madeline and Boomer, throwing her clipboard and pen aside and running to meet them with arms outstretched. Doc's relieved voice echoed in their heads as she communicated with them psychically. Boomer! Maddy! I was so worried!
The civilians behind her start looking at each other, unsure what to make of this new development.
Boomer cocks an eyebrow as Doc rushes at Madeline, pushing deep into her arms. "So, Doc, who's following you?"
Doc snuggles into Madeline's armpit, making herself too familiar for Madeline's liking. Oh, those guys. I lied! I stole a clipboard, and told them I needed to see lab 28, and they just brought me here!
The civilian in the middle looked to his right, then left. All of them reach into their inner coat pockets at once. Doc sticks her hand back and rust-colored sandy chunks embed themselves into their pistols. The pistols jam, and they frantically try to fire them as they click repeatedly. The one on the right explodes in his hand. He screams at his mangled hand as the others put their pistols away, dragging him to safety.
Doc finally steps back from Madeline, looking her up and down. Maddy, you’re wounded! Here, let me just… She focuses as she lays her hand on Madeline’s forehead. The air around both of them swirls with tendrils of blood red for a moment, then becomes clear. There. Stored a touch cast Sutures program on you. Now… She touches Madeline again, this time the air around her sparkles momentarily with fist sized blue hexagonal shapes. Aegis program. Keep those pesky bullets away.
The stomping of heavy boots comes down the hallway. A squad of soldiers stops and raises their weapons. "Freeze, hands up!"
Madeline whips around, baring her teeth. She charges headlong into the group as they open fire, rounds bouncing off the Aegis program and her armor. Boomer draws her ring and casts a flurry of four 3cm thick by 10cm long black shards, flying past Madeline and skewering two of the soldiers up front in the chest. Madeline reaches a third one and punches him in the jaw from below, her hardened bones and armored glove snapping his neck back.
The soldier behind her fires wildly at her back, clutching his trigger in panic. Madeline grits her teeth at the pain as a couple rounds slip through and grabs his rifle by the barrel shroud, ripping it from his hands. She swings for the fences with the gun, shattering the furniture against his helmet as he ragdolls to the floor. Madeline swoops down to grab the club on his belt, then leaps toward the next closest soldier. One just to Madeline’s right tries to fire his rifle fruitlessly, finally it explodes in his hands. Madeline crashes into her prey, bludgeoning through his visor with a hearty laugh. The resolve of the final soldier is broken, he turns to flee, showing Madeline's mace slung on his back!
Madeline reaches for her quiver, forgetting that it's gone. Boomer throws a salvo of spikes, one bouncing off his helmet, another clipping his shin. He yelps in pain and slows down. Doc casts at him, and a tendril of black nanobots snakes into the air intakes on his helmet. He claws at his visor, screaming "Auuugh! Not again, not aga…"
Madeline rings his bell with the club and he slumps down, mercifully quiet. Madeline pulls her mace from him and gives it a couple test swings. Satisfied, she clips the mace into her magnetic back rig and pulls her quiver off him, slinging it over her shoulder and loosening it to fit her muscular, armored frame. Only 3 spears left, they must have been stolen.
Boomer glances at her tablet again. "Hunter is disengaging, he will find us..."
The robotic woman's voice interrupts Boomer over the PA. "Crusaders, some Xeno is holding our landing pad! Kill it!"
Madeline draws her mace, pointing triumphantly forward. "Let's go reinforce Titan!"
Boomer scoffs at Madeline’s enthusiasm. "Fine by me, lead the way."
Doc's feline face beams. Yes, let us go! She pulls out her tablet. I will guide you!
Madeline charges through the halls, mace at the ready, guided by Doc's subconscious cues. Madeline rounds a corner and bowls over a soldier, trampling him beneath her combat boots. She gives him a swift backwards kick to the head for good measure, then presses onward. They come to a door painted olive drab, without hesitation Madeline charges shoulder-first, crashing into it and bouncing off, landing on her back. The door is scratched in the upper third where her pauldron hit it, but otherwise undamaged.
Boomer steps forward. "I got this, get back Moon!"
Madeline scrambles back, standing up using her mace. Boomer draws her ring and fiery air swirls around the door latch, slowly spreading around the outside of the door. "Serious reinforcement…" Boomer says mostly to herself. The entire frame heats up, and Boomer thrusts her ring forward. Doc recasts Aegis on Madeline just in time as the entire door frame explodes, rending the door from the remains of its hinges and bolt as it crashes forward. Molten shrapnel bounces harmlessly off the Aegis program as Madeline charges forward through the ruined frame.
Wait Maddy! Doc cries out to her psychically, to no avail.
The dust clears to reveal a squad of six pinned down behind a shipping container. Volleys of energy bolts strike the front, leaving molten pockmarks in the steel. Two bodies lay in the open, wounds cauterized by energy weapons fire. The soldiers panic and raise their rifles to address the new threat, realizing they are now utterly exposed as well as pinned down.
Madeline charges the group, laughing gleefully at her soon to be prey. The three in the back explode into flames, screaming in agony as the concussive force and heat destroys them. Madeline smashes the gun out of the front most soldier's hands with one blow, then crushes his helmet against the side of the shipping container with the next. The third soldier panics and drops his weapon, sprinting away as fast as his legs can carry him. A single, tooth rattling gunshot from behind tears through his spine and chest, leaving an ugly wound and downing him instantly.
The final soldier freezes, shaking in terror as Madeline reaches down, swatting his rifle from his grip and picking him up by the throat with her right hand. "Snacktime!" She cries out cheerfully, biting through his neck. Madeline keeps drinking as he struggles against her iron grip, rivulets of blood running down her glove and face.
"Gross, Moon!" Boomer looks away, shielding her eyes from the spectacle.
His struggles get weaker and weaker, before Madeline finally drops him to the ground. She pulls her cloth out of her breastplate, wiping off her face and chest as best she can, smearing a little blood around with the soaked handkerchief. She replaces it, turning back around beaming as she skips up the ramp to her right. Boomer follows, her face deep in her palm. Doc brings up the rear, stepping carefully around the bloodied corpse.
Titan stands up from behind a paneled railing as they crest the ramp, an absolute tank of a Zayl-Ych Warrior decked head to toe in insectoid, bright green armor plating. His green feline face is covered in thick green chitin with fur poking between the plates. His ears bear a sleek black halo, with a boom mic running down next to his mouth. He lowers his right arm, bearing a beetle shaped chitinous pod crackling with energy. The "wings" on the back close up, covering the glowing green back of the pod. His deep, commanding voice easily overpowers the chaos in the background. "Good of you to join me, there's more on the way. Elite troops, not these..." He waves dismissively down the ramp. "...security forces. Hunter should be joining us shortly, he has eluded his pursuers."
Boomer takes a quick look down the ramp. "I'm gonna get rid of that shipping container, cover me!" She stands up, holding her ring out as green sandy air slowly surrounds the container.
A fire team comes out the left door, raising their weapons toward Boomer and opening fire. Titan cuts down one with a burst from his pod, but another hits Boomer in her right shoulder. She recoils backward as the round pierces her light breastplate, struggling to hold onto her program.
Madeline stands up, furious at their attackers! The third fires on her, rounds bouncing off her Aegis program. The fourth opens fire on Titan, rounds ricocheting off his concrete cover. Madeline launches a spear into the third's chest, and he staggers back in shock and collapses, still clutching the shaft. Titan cuts down the second as Doc heals Boomer, and the fourth soldier realizes the futility of his situation, bolting back inside.
Boomer finally casts toward the cargo container, and quickly ducks behind cover. The rest of the squad does the same. It detonates, flinging molten shrapnel into the concrete wall of the base, away from the landing pad. They look back up to see the smoldering remains against the far wall, depriving anyone on the walkway beneath them of cover.
"Fuck yeah!" Boomer cheers, admiring her handiwork with her left hand on her hip. A gunshot rings out, sailing just past her head. "Fuck!" She drops back behind cover, pulling a vial from her pouch, popping the seal and holding it under her palm. "Recharging, cover me!"
Titan drops the intruder with a burst from his pod. "They were checking if we were still here. More are coming." Two canisters come rolling out each door, smoke trailing behind them. The smoke fills the lower walkway, shrouding it from view. "Moon!" Titan bellows and points to the smoke.
"On it!" Madeline bounds down the ramp, mace in hand. She meets two soldiers emerging from the smoke, swinging her mace underhand to cut the legs out from beneath one, then overhand burying the flanges into his gut. The other screams and jumps back, not expecting her or the brutality he just witnessed. Madeline presses her advantage, smashing him in the kidney and sending him staggering backwards over the railing.
Two more soldiers push out of the smoke with heavy shields, shoving Madeline back as she struggles to regain her footing. “Not such a badass now, are ya? Eat shield, bitch!” jeers the one to her right.
Boom! A shot cuts through the air, punching through the shield on her right and erupting in a red blossom just behind it. Hunter crouches in a small tower on the back right of the pad, his massive black rifle barrel still smoking above the windowsill. The rifle is canted so he can use an optical sight off to the side.
Madeline seizes the opportunity and grabs the remaining shield, wrestling for control. The soldier, sensing he is losing the grapple, draws his pistol and holds down the trigger while she is exposed. He is too close for her Aegis program to protect her, so she takes multiple hits to the arms and one to the chest, staggering her as it cracks her collarbone. He lunges at her with a knife as she drops the shield, only to be cut down with another loud Boom! He hits the floor on his back, missing a shoulder and next to his fallen arm. He screams as he realizes, failing to stop the blood from flowing with his other hand.
Madeline retreats, taking cover between Doc and Boomer. Titan opens fire on the next group as the smoke disperses, cutting the exposed troops down with aimed bursts of plasma. Boomer skewers two with a volley of shards.
Maddy! Doc turns Madeline to face her. I got you, keep still! Doc lays one hand on Madeline’s collarbone, the other on her right arm. The air around her shimmers with deep red tendrils leading to Madeline’s wounds, as they rapidly knit.
Boomer taps Madeline on the shoulder. “Incoming, Moon!” Madeline huddles down, covering her ears. Planes streak overhead at supersonic speed, loosing their missile payloads into two towers to the north and south. The towers crumble as the cracking wake passes, leaving Boomer beaming as she gestures toward the smoldering remains of the south tower.
Doc casts toward a wounded Titan, incoming rounds start ricocheting off an Aegis program. She casts again, and Titan's wounds start to knit.
Boomer draws her ring and casts at the damaged doorway, detonating the soldier peeking out from behind it. Screaming echoes from inside the door, as their squad mates panic.
Titan peeks over cover, noting no more enemies and hearing no movement. "Something's wrong. No nanotechs, no heavy weapons to flush us out… they're distracting us. From what?"
Hunter pulls his rifle into the darkness, and rappels down the back of the landing pad. He stays for a moment to survey, then zips back up.
"Nothing? That's even more suspicious. Our ship is still on the way." Titan focuses on the right door, shifting his footing nervously.
The robotic voice comes over the PA system again. "Xeno scum, you shall rue this day! Meet our newest creation!" The wall directly in front of them erupts outward in a shower of broken concrete and rebar. As the door clears, a massive biped half a meter taller than Madeline steps out in black power armor, wielding a light machine gun and bearing two launcher tubes on its back. A golden cross is embossed on the armor plating. A yellow laser shines off a bump in its helmet, tracking around their cover.
Boomer stands up, and its laser snaps to her. She tries to cast, but grey sand falls from her ring. "Silence... active..." The machine monotones.
The PA crackles to life, "Not so tough without your precious 'bots, nanotech!"
Boomer answers with a shot from her revolver, it bounces off the helmet plating leaving a slight dent. She drops back down behind cover, and turns to Madeline. "That thing ain't human, I think they broke The Rule!"
Hunter's barrel pops out of the darkness again. Boom! The heavy round cracks the top of its helmet, staggering it. "Head… damage…"
The machine turns to him, firing a burst to pin Hunter down. Boomer stands up and starts to cast, but the laser tracks back to her almost instantly, followed by the machine gun. A burst catches her full on and sends her onto her back. The PA cackles, "One less nanotech in the world!"
Boomer struggles to stand up, but falls down into her rapidly pooling blood.
Doc tries to cast toward her, but sandy clumps of bots fall from her hand. She looks at Madeline pleadingly, then Hunter. "You two gotta help keep it busy!"
Boom! A crack appears in its right shoulder joint. "Right… shoulder… servo… damage…." Madeline vaults onto the walkway, making a beeline toward the machine. The machine opens fire on Hunter's position and Madeline slides in underneath, narrowly dodging the barrel. Titan opens fire, melting pockmarks in its armor with plasma bursts. Madeline stands and grabs the gun, grappling with the machine for control.
The PA crackles. "How dare you touch my creation, filthy…" Boom! The heavy round bounces off the chest armor, leaving a deep dent and narrowly missing Madeline. "Battery… damage…"
The PA crackles furiously. "I have had enough of you! Feel justice rain down!" The machine lets go of the gun, sending Madeline crashing to the ground. The laser tracks to Hunter's hiding spot, and the machine crouches. Madeline fires from her prone position, but the rounds bounce harmlessly off the machine as she struggles to control the gun. The PA laughs, "You saw heavy rounds barely damage me, why would that work?!"
The left launcher tube on the machine opens, and the rocket within shoots skyward. Madeline leaps to her feet, discarding the gun and grabbing its head to wrench it aside. The PA crackles,"Too late, succubus! Your friend is dead!" The rocket smashes into the roof of the tower and detonates, scattering wreckage over the pad.
The machine stands, a raging Madeline dangling from its head. "I…" She winds back and throws punch after punch into the cracked head plating. "Am… A… Lady!" She drops to the ground as the machine reels back, drawing her mace. "Ocular… systems… critical…"
The PA crackles with rage, "Bitch, you took out my eyes! You'll die for that!" The machine swings at Madeline, missing by a mile. Madeline replies by smashing her mace into the weakened head armor, burying it flange deep. The laser blinks intermittently as Madeline rips her mace clear. The machine shoves her onto her back wildly, and tries to smash her on the ground, but caves in the left side rail instead. Her mace crashes to the ground just behind her.
"Concentrate on the head, she's weakened it!" Calls Titan from behind her. He opens fire, landing plasma bursts and melting the armor bit by bit.
Madeline rolls to her right, drawing a spear from her quiver as she springs to her feet. She bellows a triumphant war cry as she leaps toward the machine, driving her spear deep into the melted head armor. The laser dies with a pop and smell of ozone, while Madeline giggles with delight. "Silence... module... lost… battery… critical…"
The machine lunges and grabs Madeline in a bearhug. Madeline yelps in surprise and struggles, but can't break herself from the machine's grasp. Titan stops firing, no longer having a clear shot as it slowly crushes the life from her. The remaining launcher tube on its back opens up, firing its last rocket in Titan's direction, exploding through his cover. The machine collapses on top of Madeline, crushing her with its entire weight and forcing out a scream.
The PA crackles with malice. "My creation will take you to the grave with it, monster!"
Madeline looks up to see Titan, streaked with green blood and cracked armor plating from shrapnel wounds, limping toward her. His wounds knit slowly as Doc stands behind him casting Sutures. He activates the plasma longsword on his weapon pod as he closes in, and carefully cuts through the damaged shoulder joint, then grabs the machine and lifts it up just a bit. His thick, muscular arms and legs tremble under the strain. Boomer and Doc grab Madeline under her arms and drag her clear, and Titan drops the ruined machine with a crash.
Madeline takes a deep breath, coughing up blood. Boomer and Doc keep dragging her back to the landing pad as her eyes droop. The PA crackles, "Nooooo! Crusaders, get out there and bring me her head!"
A dropship screams in the distance, dark gray with a full UEG badge emblazoned on the side door. A blue eye with a red gash above and below, with a single tear flowing from the left corner.
Titan takes position in front of Doc but behind cover, opening fire on the advancing troops. Doc quickly casts an Aegis program on him, to reduce the wounds she'll have to patch up later.
Doc and Boomer keep dragging, then set Madeline down toward the back of the pad. Boomer scurries off to the front to explode advancing troops. Doc slowly runs her right hand down Madeline's body while looking at her tablet on her left. Red tendrils snake all around Madeline, rapidly knitting her wounds. Madeline turns to face Doc and lets out another pained cough, blood running from her mouth.
Severe internal bleeding, punctured lung… Need to get this armor off, it is killing her! Doc pops the buckles on the side of Madeline’s cuirass, and lifts the crushed front plate.
Madeline tries to take a breath, but feels like she’s drowning.
The flow of troops stops suddenly. The PA screams, "GET OUT THERE YOU COWARDS!", but nobody does.
Titan glances around, then looks down to see if anyone is underneath. The area is clear. The dropship descends onto the pad, deploying its landing struts and leaving the thrusters on low as it touches down. The back door drops open, and six hulking figures in heavy gray armor disembark, sleek black rifles with optical sights raised while they scan the area. The front of their armor bears a lighter gray UEG sigil over their chest and abdomen, covered in extra rifle and pistol magazines in holders, and they carry black pistols holstered on their hips. A full gray helmet not unlike a motorcycle helmet completely obscures their faces.
Four much slighter figures in skintight black suits step off into the middle of the group, wielding cybernetic gloves with black rings similar to Boomer's in their left hands, and black pistols with extended magazines in their right. They wear black helmets instead of gray. Three soldiers and two nanotechs each split up, heading into the two entrances. Gunfire and screams echo out, then fade away as the troops push inside.
"Get your wounded in here and let's go, I need to be back in time for those Ghosts!" The harsh voice of the male pilot called out over the ship's comm system.
Titan drags Madeline aboard and straps her into a stretcher he pulls off the wall, appraising her condition, shaking his head no and standing up to help the others. Madeline’s vision is hazy, she sees Doc and Boomer dragging a gray figure with a huge black rifle strapped to his back inside.
Boomer pulls his rifle off and struggles with it, Titan relieves her of the burden and sets it on the floor next to Madeline. Doc and Boomer strap Hunter into the seat closest to the bulkhead, leaning him against it. She casts at him, then casts at Titan. Madeline’s heavy eyes drift closed.
Oh no, Maddy! You are not dying on me! Doc cries out in her head, snapping Madeline awake for a moment. Her eyes close as Doc drops next to her on her knees. She is too tired, she coughs up more blood and succumbs to shock as the ship takes off.