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Front 10.2 - A Magi’s Assault Part 2
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'This is way too many risks, the hell have we gotten into now....' Kolme lamented as he threw the Neo's controls into a forward run.
Per the 'plan' all four machines had begun to move, Sabban, Kolme and Hoki making their way along the backs of the warehouse district, with Una prone and ready to take her shot.
As he reached the turn-off point that would set Kolme off down the twisting streets of the city, he took a momentary glance at all his monitors - It was the rear camera that caught his eye. Unlike the cameras in the Neo's head, the rear camera was of a lower quality with a grainy feel to it - Still it was enough to scare Kolme witless.
He glanced at it, his Neo already mid turn, only to see Una's unit - Per the plan it had stepped out of cover, but then stopped, no shot, just standing still in the middle of the open boulevard, a sitting duck.
"Hoki!" Kolme roared - It had been another snap decision, she was still the closest to Una, himself and Sabban having both split off into different streets.
Hoki didn't have time to verbally respond, though Kolme could no longer see their machines, he heard the sound of levers being thrown and a round being fired. A mere second later he saw a neon-green lighting bolt arc across the city skyline above him, heading in Una's direction. Another moment and a return shot of orange light headed back towards the enemy source.
----
Kolme's held his breath for what felt like a lifetime;
"....Rookie? Hoki-lass?"
There was a second's silence before finally two voices joined him over the radio link - "We're fine Lt.sir, I shot at Una before the enemy did, got her moving again. Not a second too soon though, good call sir."
Hoki said, clearly catching her breath after having made her own split second decision.
"Good, good - Rookie can you still move?"
Kolme asked in relief.
"I-it's, it's, it's all the same! It's all the same...." Una wailed across the line.
Kolme glanced down at his map, a crude 2d layout of the city with red dots indicating the Neo's and blue circles showing their target goals.
"What is?" He replied back, concern building seeing now that although her dot was back in cover, Una was still clearly stationary and falling behind the others.
There was an alarming amount of heavy breading and possibly even tears from Una in-between sentences; "The c-city, it's the same, everything looks the same! ...Like home did, like home... It looks like home before... before the poison before...."
Kolme cursed to himself, remembering Una's nervousness back in the port and his own thoughts about how similar each Nation-State looked - 'Don't they test cadets for triggers before certifying them for the field?! No, who am I kidding, I should of seen this coming - Girl is just a kid, I brought her with me without thinking about how this place would affect her, that's on me and only me...'
"Ya, so!?" Interjected the gruff voice of Sabban Vint, "The feck does it matter if it reminds you of home Rookie? You gonna' sit there and cry about old memories now is it?"
Hoki was the one to cut back, "Sabban, I don't think that's approp--"
"What?! We are on a fucking battlefield! We don't have time for her to breakdown, at any second that 'thing' up there Will start shooting at us again ya hear?! So what's it gonna be Una O' Conchabhair? You gonna sit there and die or get off ye're ass and run like the rest of us lunatics?!
I don't remember any of my classmates giving up this easily Una!!"
The young man roared across all their radios.
There was an eerie silence for a few moments until to everyone's relief the little red dot on the map for Una's Neo, began to move once more.
Kolme took a deep breath, staying calm was getting tough for more than just Una, things seemed to be happening one after the other.
"Hoki, Una fired back in amongst all that right? Any idea what damage it did?"
"Roger." Una said.
Kolme frowned in confusion but Hoki's answer quickly took his attention;
"Yes sir, the medium rifle didn't pierce the armour but if these calculations are right then prolonged fire from multiple machines would do it - If we get to your co-ordinates the plan might just work!"
"All 'ight then, just a little more pushing then--" Even as he said the words, yet another issue came colliding & barrelling towards Kolme.
The street he was on was narrow, just large enough for the Neo to pass through - On one side was a head-height wall, on the opposite a row of would-be residential housing. Through the grey wall, a few metres ahead of Kolme, erupted a bulging, sickly green light, before the bricks exploded outwards and a green-snake of energy burst across the road in-front of the Neo.
Cursing he pulled up on the controls to stop but was too clumsy - The tired, rusted, seared green and blue machine toppled backwards, landing on its back with a heavy thud that dented the road beneath.
Kolme rubbed at the back of his head, glad to have been properly buckled into his machine, happily ignoring the digging pain of the tightened safety belts.
He reached up to his controls and began the tricky movement of getting the Neo back up - Realising how his fall had, if awkwardly, allowed him to dodge the enemy attack.
"You guys get that too?" He asked.
"Roger." Una said blankly, Sabban just grunted his answer.
"Erm..." Hoki added, clearly as perplexed as Kolme by these responses - "Same here sir, seems like that thing fires four shots at once. Atleast for now its dividing them between all of us rather than focusing."
'Lunatics Sabban called us, Ha! What an understatement. The hell are we doing? Any one of these attacks could kill us, what if we do get underneath it only for it to take no notice? What if we can't break its armour even up close?!
Lunacy ain't the half of it Sabban...'
Back upright Kolme continued to move forward, the streets to either side varied but were generally just tall enough to conceal the Neos - Nonetheless a few seconds later another four blasts were loosed upon each member of the squad, each burning through bricks and mortar with ease.
This time Kolme didn't trip, bringing his machine to a halt just in time, the green line cutting into the outer layer of his mech's bulkhead, singeing off the already faded frontal paint before it dissipated away once more.
'No lunacy ain't enough! These kids are following me here, based on a blasted hunch - This was supposed ta' be recon not this!
If we're lucky that thing is a malfunctioning Magi, Lucky! The heck would not lucky be in this situation?'
Kolme immediately regretted this line of thinking.
'Unlucky' would be for the Curadh, which was presumably hiding somewhere else in the city, to stop hiding and blast them all to dust with its larger main cannons - Unlucky would be the Casnel deciding to join in, unlucky could be alot worse.
'Insane! Fucking insane!'
Kolme thought as he dodged yet another horizontal beam cutting the road in half before his eyes.
'This isn't normal, when I was a kid I though flying was amazing, in like an aeroplane - Now look at me, casually evading death beams on a city in deep space!!"
At this point Kolme was no longer sure if his thoughts were of a manic excitement or indignation - He rounded another street corner into what was a larger space, filled with shops and wider public pavements... And tram tracks.
Not seeing them in time the right-leg of his Neo slid down the slick tram line. Desperate to right himself Kolme over-corrected and a second later his machine found itself face down on the concrete, a large crack forming in his main camera where his helmet had hit the ground - Said crack causing a line to form two thirds of the ways across his main monitor.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Before he could even fix his chair posture, the winded older man watched another bolt of green-death criss-cross in-front of where he would of been had he not again fallen over - 'Lucky ha...'
"Sir you alright? Your marker has stopped moving?" Hoki's voice came in with clear concern.
"Am' fine Lass, nothing we can't 'andle, just a little further."
Kolme was grateful neither of his now two falls had caused any major damage to the Neo. Once more he stood the mech back up and continued down the tram lined shopping district.
The map indicated they were all close now - The enemy had seemingly positioned itself above the centre of the city, above the park and buildings of local-government - High in the air with a vantage point of the entire place.
It had taken time to cross such a distance but now it was nearly in sight, a few more streets and Kolme would arrive, Hoki and Sabban seemed a little further behind having taken longer routes and of course Una had started late, but overall it was near enough for them all.
Kolme had begun sub-consciously counting the time between enemy fire, grumpily noting each shot came a little quicker then the last, like timing an approaching thunderstorm - But this time no intrusion came, "Strange... Hoki you rec'on it ran outta' juice?"
Before she could answer, the sound of Sabban cursing and Una being thrown in her chair were heard across the cabin.
Kolme didn't need to ask, Sabban growled the answer - "Bastard thing is getting smarter, firing two shots at two of us, rather then splitting its weapons four ways!"
'Ah, so there goes our luck eh?'
As if on queue once more, two lines of green coursed vertically before Kolme, chipping away at the foundations of the buildings on either side of the street - A final third line appearing before his old eyes, there was nowhere to run to - All Kolme could do was bring his machine to a halt, a few moments later the buildings on either side began to crumble, blocks began to feel gravities pull and the brick facades on either side gave way - A few moments later Kolme Nilas'es Neo-C was buried whole.
****
Kolme felt tired, he often did, but especially right now.
It had been a long day, Scarlet's ominous warning, the weirdness of the 'A.M.I' compound, his argument with Sabban and this sudden ambush by the enemy - All took a toll on him both mentally and physically.
His arms felt weak, a strain just to keep them held to all the various controls of his machine - His joints all stung stiffly, his skin itched irritably - Even the taste of the air in the Neo was becoming stale.
The rubble hadn't been enough to destroy his machine, he knew that much - The Neo was far from the best at resisting physical impacts but falling bricks would bounce off to a degree. No it had been the larger chunks that had caused him to be buried, that had hit so hard that he was pretty sure he'd been unconscious for a few moments.
He knew he was perhaps getting too old for all this, as cliché as he knew that was - It was one thing to reside over the bridge of a ship or even work as an engineer - But to keep pushing the Neo forward, the physical effort of the controls, the jolts every-time it fell, dodged, or got hit - It was alot.
He knew he needed to get back up again, push off the rumble and move forward - They were nearly there after all.
He thought back to the start of this battle, when the first four beams of light had come through the door, to the moment when he had lain back in his chair, let go of the controls and given up - And why not?
He was normal, just a guy who joined a war a decade ago, not a Magi, no not even someone of vision or talent, not someone of ambition - Just plain old Kolme Nilas.
He wasn't destined to fight Casnels and Fortresses, or to change the course of wars - He was just a foot-soldier, a frontline grunt, nothing more.
'I've said that before, Sabban saved me from that back then too...
I gave up on helping my comrades, watched people die over 'an over - But Sab always came back the damn idiot.'
Sabban had saved him today too, Kolme wasn't sure how the kid had known the blast was coming seemingly before it had appeared, but he'd saved them all in that moment.
'And him and Hoki saved Una too didn't they, snapped her out of it a bit anyway - And Una! Despite my idiocy, despite suddenly forcing her to face her past like this, she's still running, still trusting in my stupid plan - These young folk really are something.'
The space around Kolme was like something out of an old submarine-movie, the cameras all blocked by debris, the cockpit was lit only by flashing red warning lights and faint button glows - But he was well used to warning lights.
He coughed as he sat back up in his chair and took in the damage reports one of the smaller monitors issued. Smelling the faint iron smell before seeing it, Kolme glanced down at his hands - He was coughing up blood.
Sighing he took off the blood stained glove and reached for the radio board - "You guys al'ight? How long was I out?"
"Sir?! Sir you're alright! We thought..." Hoki said back before quickly composing her usual more stoic voice; "Ahem - Only about 60 seconds sir, we're all still ok just about, nearing the co-ordinates now."
"Right then, off we go agai--" Kolme began.
"Don't You Dare Old Man." Sabban barked, "That thing above us definitely has a gun trained on you, the second it sees you move, from wherever you are, then it'll shot."
"I didn't know you cared so much lad." Kolme cooed back, more peppy than he had intended.
Sabban simply 'growled' in protest.
"Heh, I appreciate it lad, I do." He added more sombrely before taking up his controls once more, feeling the cold iron grip on his now exposed hand; "But I can't let you kids do everything can I? It is my plan after all, so I'll see it through - I want you three to count me down to when you rec'on it'll next fire, I'll make my move then."
"It's your funeral Nilas."
Sabban replied.
"Roger."
"Understood sir, I'll try call it as close as I can." Hoki finished, once more sounding like the only soldier of the group.
'Ya exactly, this is my plan ain't it? And I promised didn't I Sabban, that I'd stop giving up so easily.
So what if I ain't speical, I won't change this war no, but I can stand up for these idiot kids, for the people in my life - If they're willing to follow me into battle, then the least I can do is keep running, keep running until my legs won't go no further!'
"Approx-Forty seconds until we are in place Lieutenant, 10 until the estimated next enemy barrage." Hoki issued over the comms.
Kolme readied himself, listening as Hoki slowly counted down the numbers and then, at 1 exactly, he threw forward the Neo at full throttle.
The mound of rubble erupted violently, bricks smashing through what little windows and the like remained on the dishelved street - The Neo audibly roared as its generators pushed to their absolute maximum, as its joint's seized under the strain and tremendous pressure, oil leaking & bursting free, showering the machine in black - The battered Vijaik emerging victoriously out of the pile of detritus.
The attack was seconds behind, the green bolt coming head on for the newly freed Neo - Kolme ducked the machine, braced its legs and held both arms and his shield forward - The green beam collided, the shield began to burn, flames erupted, paint pealed and the metal frayed.
The sheer force of the impact caused the Neo to grind backwards, its feet digging mightily into the roadway, pavement splitting and flying up into the air around him. The Shield finally gave way, its two halves crumbling to the floor - The green beam persisted, digging into the Neo's left arm.
Kolme Stands [https://i.imgur.com/yvEI4HR.jpg]
Kolme readied himself for the worst.
And then finally the beam ran its full course and stopped. The Neo's left hand fell limply to its side, and so, Kolme Nilas began to run forwards with all his might, 'one more time'.
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