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7.3 - Casnel Part 1
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THUD!
"Hoki, Hoki!"
THUD!
Hoki awoke with an arrested start, struggling to raise an arm out of her sleeping bag to wipe her tired eyes. She slowly moved her hand over to the wall-mounted monitor next to her and pressed the receiver on; "I-I'm up, what's wrong?"
"What's wrong?! They're here, that's what, the Casnel! Five bloody days of waiting, I'll kill old man Nilas for all this waiting! Now wake yere'self up. Plan A is a-go!" Scarlet said back in a voice of alarmingly gleeful excitement.
After that, Hoki was quick to shake the sleep from herself. They had practised the drill of what would be done if the enemy arrived while asleep and now she put that into action.
Quickly changing back into her uniform and grabbing her handheld, Hoki headed for the door with only a minor, wistful look towards the toilet she knew she would not see again for some time. Making her way through the rounded tunnel that connected the Vijaiks to the field camp, she landed into her pilot's chair - Carefully sealing the airlock of the cabin behind her.
"I'm in Scarlet, sitrep?" Before Hoki had even said it, she could hear the faint whir of the connecting tunnel being disconnected, Scarlet having obviously activated the removal process on her end. The tunnels were soon retracted, and the camp's small set of thrusters activated, propelling it off back towards where the fleet lay in waiting - Leaving only the thin and easily snappable comms cable behind.
It had been another day since Hoki and Scarlet had opened up to one another and said day had been as uneventful as all the others, though with more easy-going conversations between the two. As promised, they had gone over the plan, and Scarlet soon dropped her aloof attitude to give all sorts of advice. At times, they had near bickering, but overall, Hoki was confident about the arrangement they'd decided on.
"Computer says T-Minus two minutes until the Casnel is within estimated firing range, Ma'am. Visuals should be coming over to you as we speak," Scarlet's formal report took Hoki slightly aback, but she had little time to think about it. Her mech had been left on standby, and as she now flicked everything back on, she watched each screen spring to life and smelled the faint scent of hydraulics and machine oil beginning to move about - All to the sound of crunching and whirring throughout her mech.
While much of what she and Scarlet had discussed had, in reality, been strengths and weaknesses they had already known about each other - One thing of noteworthiness had been Scarlet's high level of tech-savviness - Despite her continued disdain for using simulators to train, the woman actually had quite the grasp for noughts and ones. As planned, rather than immediately charging towards the enemy, Scarlet's mech waited silently beside Hoki while she worked with the onboard AI to calculate the enemy's trajectory and where the submarine should be hiding. Indeed, all evidence thus far indicated their invisible foe never strayed far from its prototype Casnel accomplice.
110
Hoki glanced at the primary monitor, now springing to life with the data from Scarlet. What appeared was like a landscape painting of black nothingness - But for the green crescent-moon shape of the Clover to the right side - And, of course, it. At their current distance, the Casnel was little more than an ill-defined blur, but Hoki could still make it out for the most part. Like the Neo-Vijaiks, it had two arms and two legs - Accompanied by a two-eyed, sloping headpiece. Unlike the Vijaiks, it was painted in an array of blacks and greys along with some silver highlights as though to blend in with space - Something it almost achieved but for the green glow behind it.
For all the sleek, slim black machine seemed to cut through the night like a knife, behind it, large thrusters threw out a bright green colour that left a faint wavy line - Almost like the contrails of regular planes in atmosphere, might leave behind them.
Said green drew a narrow line that almost divided Hoki's screen in half, with the Casnel at its front creating an almost arrow-like effect, pointing towards the unsuspecting - semi-defenseless Clover.
The Casnel's Approach [https://i.imgur.com/SSiF0hK.jpg]
100
Hoki didn't have to try hard to imagine what it must look like in Scarlet's cabin right now. No doubt her hands, much like Hoki's own, were a blur moving from keyboard to keyboard - All carefully laid out in front of her in a semi-circle pattern, with the machine's actual control handles pushed almost out of reach to make more space for the work that needed to be done - As Hoki had been taught it, there were three principles to using a 'Vijaik long-range rifle'; these three were what made them so very rare, to the point of Hoki being the only operator among the fifteen pilots of the Tristian Flotilla.
First was the separation. Imagine the feeling of holding something, not necessarily a weapon but simply a hot poker or a walking stick. Now, think of how much control you lose when wearing a pair of heavy gloves or marigolds. Imagine trying, for example, to precisely move something with a garbage picker - Its snappy two-pronged head awkwardly clamping open and shut, fumbling around the handle of the walking stick - Imagine that much, and you might start to get some idea of the First Principal. Although the AI of the machine could handle some things, ultimately, one had to trust in the machine's accuracy and their own calculations to move the mecha's two massive hands, hands larger than people, over the delicate surfaces of the sniper rifle.
Then there was the visuals. Unlike an actual rifle, with a Vijaik, you don't look through the scope but rather through a viewfinder, or literally the head of the Vijaik - Which in turn automatically adjusts for the difference of metres between where it and the rifle beneath it line up. Almost like putting a periscope in front of a pair of binoculars - This disorientating process of looking at a screen that's been artificially unfocused is the second hurdle of the job.
80
Thirdly, the numbers. To be a sniper requires one to have both the intuition, gusto, and natural talent of a frontline soldier and also the mathematical prowess to compute reams upon reams of figures. The distance between her and the enemies wasn't just a thousand metres like might be the case for a regular rifleman, but rather more like ten thousand.
Being in space helped, with no atmospheric pressures or weather conditions to consider - But that could hardly account for the energy element. Where a conventional bullet could theoretically fly forever in space, an energy bolt would gradually dissipate, becoming less effective over range. Ordinarily, this meant nothing, for the distance this would take is far too great to be of concern to regular pilots - But for snipers, every little detail had to be neatly considered.
60
Hoki pressed down the final equation, a faint message box appearing on one of the many screens to confirm it was done. She heard a stirring from Scarlet across the comms as she too, received the message.
56 - 14
There was another principle that Hoki knew past the first three, one no one ever said outright - For it was almost a contradiction to all the cold logic required for the rest of the sniping process. The ‘Auxiliary Control Stick' lay at the centre of all her keyboards. It was surreal to think she and Scarlet had, until just yesterday, repurposed the gear-lever-like objects for the use of playing cards on the big monitor. On it was a small red trigger.
The fourth step was obviously firing. All the numbers now in, the weapon positioned to a millimetre accuracy and a second timer starting its descent. Hoki had never met a single marksman who trusted it enough, the automatic fire function, that is. Too many things could go wrong, too many sequencing errors or AI glitches in the system.
No, almost every sniper would pull the trigger themselves.
52 - 10
A faint crosshair outline was now overlaid on her monitor, a few paces away from it the Casnel still streaking its way forward. In the bottom right corner of the screen, the countdown clock.
48, 47, 46 - '46 seconds until it is in range of the Clover, in range of a space-station filled with hundreds, maybe thousands of mostly defenceless civilians.'
45 - 3.
44 - 2
43 - 1
BANG
The thin line of brilliant blue ejected out of Hoki's rifle in a blinding flash of colour. In a second, it began its short journey through the night sky, crossing kilometres in mere moments.
'
Huh, look at that. I think that's my best shot ever. Beating a Casnel for my first ever proper space battle, whatever will father think' - Hoki allowed herself a slight grin, more of relief than pride. Her aim had been perfect. Even if the Casnel saw it coming, there would be no dodging at the speed at which it was moving - 40.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
At worst, the incredibly powerful shot would go straight through one of the machine's limbs, hampering its combat potential and killing its momentum. At best, as this shot seemed to be - It would hit the mid-riff of the machine and either destroy the cockpit or cause a chain reaction to blow up the enemy's power cells - 'Totally victory just like that. All that waiting for just a single, clean shot.'
38.5
38
37.9
"Mother of--" Scarlet muttered aloud, taking the words from Hoki's own agape mouth. The shot had been perfect as estimated, yet the Casnel didn't even have a scratch.
Hoki lurched forward, forcing all her viewing equipment to a maximum zoom. The Casnel was entirely undamaged. Even so far away from it, she could tell that much. What had changed was the clock - It had stopped at '38'. It dawned on Hoki that the Casnel had been pushed back at a ninety-degree angle to its original trajectory, all from the force of the blast.
Additionally, a square-green shimmer now held around the machine, like some form of shield that had absorbed the blast on the Casnel's behalf, only causing it to be pushed back. Without a mark to even prove it.
Hoki fell back into her chair - 'Blocked? Blocked! For Sun's sake, you can't just block something like that with a shield; it's impossible!'
"Hoki, Hoki! Ensign Bachika, Princess! For crying out loud, Hoki, they're calling your bluff. Line up the next shot!" Scarlet yelled across the still connected comm-link.
Hoki shot back up to the controls, cursing herself for panicking; she began to reach around the cockpit. The enemy mech had begun to move again, and although it would take time to regroup its previous speed, it became clear it intended to continue towards the helpless Clover. As the last of its prior line of green faded, a new one took its place as Hoki began the process of firing all over again.
The Casnel's Bluff [https://i.imgur.com/XV6euLH.jpg[]
37.5
She clasped at the controls, her hands trying to work faster than before, her mind racing; 'What good is firing again if it can block you - Block you! What in Sun's name can block something like that! Enough, that's enough; you're acting like a cadet. Control your breathing, woman.'
37
A faint orange flashing in the corner of her machine, accompanied by a quiet whirring, alerted Hoki to her mech's need to ventilate the influx of energy. She reached hurriedly behind herself, spending a full couple of seconds trying to remember which of the heavy-set levers to pull to ventilate the right side parts of the machine.
36.25
As she finished pulling the lever, she turned back to the keyboards and computation reams, the faint smell of greasy oil filling her nose as she tried to desperately bring her breathing back under control. It wasn't the same as panic, exactly - She didn't feel scared per se - More like her mind had slowed to a crawl like the numbers strewn in front of her began to swim - To form mocking faces - As though the logic she relied on was taunted her itself; 'Best shot you've ever taken right? You're meant to be a rationalist, aren't you? So, the logical thing to do now is call it all off. Don't waste the power on a second shot. If you won't trust logic, what else have you got left?' The imaginary voice cooed.
35
"San, sanju, Nana-niju--"
Hoki stared in disbelief at the small speaker emitting the numbers in Scarlet's voice.
'Those are, they're from my home’s language. Why would Scarlet know those numbers?'
Though somewhat simplistic in nature, Scarlet continued to call out a series of numbers, coordinates in Hoki's native tongue. Further to Hoki's surprise was her own hands, which she realised had subconsciously begun to key in the string of numbers into her machine.
33
The numbers ceased swarming now, and her mind calmed down. With Scarlet helping to make up for the time she had lost, the duo quickly finished the rifle adjustments, far faster than it had taken to prepare her first shot.
'I didn't know she even had spotter training. I guess I'll have to ask about it when we get back... Ya, when we get back.'
30
BANG
Once more, the brilliant beam of blue soared across the skyline on a direct intersection with the green line of the Casnel. This time, Hoki knew it would see the shot coming and wondered whether it would use that strange translucent shield again. To her surprise and relief, the Casnel did not block this time. Instead, it seemed to reverse all its thrusters, narrowly stopping just metres away from slamming into the energy attack.
Scarlet whooped across the radio, exclaiming excitedly, "Ha-ha, told you it was just a bluff! Whatever that shield was, he ain't willing to risk getting hit directly by you twice. As little as I want to admit it - I would do the same in his place - That's some of the best damn shootin' I've ever seen, Hoki-girl!!"
The Casnel didn't try to start towards the Clover for a third time. Instead, it turned and, after a short moment, began to head towards Scarlet & Hoki's position at long last.
"Well it's about time. I'm sending you the data on the submarine with its most likely positions - Good Luck!" Scarlet uttered before leaning forward to turn off the live feed.
Before she could, Hoki interrupted her, "Wait, maybe I can get one more hit, I--"
"Oh heck no, the plan Ensign, remember? I get you the coordinates and then intercept the Casnel while you reveal the enemy ship," Scarlet finished sternly. Hoki reddened at being the one to question the plan she had insisted on making before replying back to Scarlet with a curt apology and 'good-luck' of her own. Scarlet seemed satisfied with this, and as the camera cut for the last time, Hoki could have sworn she saw a glass & plastic looking cylinder float past one corner of the screen - Though she paid it little heed, more focused on the wolfish, almost sinister grin that spread across Scarlet's face as the image faded.
The comms cable snapped, and Scarlet (careful, as Hoki had asked, not to disturb their metal platform too much) was gone, making her way across the endless dark towards the nearing figure of the Casnel. For Hoki's part she quickly arranged Scarlet's figures on one of the TV-sized monitors and started running calculations for the third time that day. Much like her unexpected use of a foreign language, Scarlet's maths were equally impressive, with the row of coordinators being more professional than Hoki had seen from many other fellow marksmen in the past.
Before long, she had her third shot lined up; however, where before she'd had a target to aim at (however small), now she was faced with only blank space. Nonetheless, she braced herself and took the shot, all the while faintly aware of the bottom right of her screen as two more weapons fired. These were indicative of the Casnel, which fired a large arm-mounted cannon - And Scarlet, who carried with her an even bigger bazooka-type weapon that fired a massive shell of physical ammunition.
Hoki watched as her cyan-energy shot hit nothing, Coursing off into the deaths of space. Unperturbed, she rapidly began lining up the fourth shot based on the second most likely place for the enemy vessel to be hiding, according to Scarlet's carefully crafted numbers. As for the other two, Hoki half-watched from the corner of her eye as Scarlet easily cartwheeled and dodged out of the path of each shot the Casnel fired. The luminous green blasts of bloated energy from its imposing cannon seemingly posed no threat against Scarlet's speed - Her large red and emerald mech dancing around the enemy.
Similarly, the Casnel easily avoided the shells from Scarlet's bazooka, simply striving from side to side with minimal movement.
Finally, the duo of machines reached each other face to face, both with glowing orange arc-staffs drawn. The speed at which they collided caused the two thin plasma weapons to flicker violently like candles in a breeze and for their light telescopic frames to bend and buckle under the strain of one another - But neither machine gave any ground.
Hoki was loath to say it, but if Scarlet could compliment her, then she, too, could compliment Scarlet; 'Her control of the machine's movements is unreal!'
Even as the thought went through her mind, she watched Scarlet raise her bazooka in her off-hand while still locking blades with the Casnel. In sync with Hoki's fourth shot, Scarlet's shell flew free. The Casnel, rather than trying to shield, boosted to one side before being knocked back by the force of the shell explosion. Had she not been busy with her own part of the plan, Hoki might have considered the implications of this: Did the Casnel have limited power? Could the shield not stop solid projectiles? Or most likely of all, if the green shimmering square of light was really made of pure energy, would activating with an arc-staff drawn risk cutting through the Casnel's own weapons?
However, Hoki was indeed busy. At long last, a shot had hit home, and the only thought she could spare for her ally's small victory was of little substance: '15 loaf to Scarlet.'
Entire kilometres away, Hoki's endless line of cyan energy had stopped as if frozen in mid-air, the thin energy simply sizzling against nothing like a raindrop held in mid-air before suddenly pooling outwards in a rapid circle of lapping water. Like a stone thrown onto the surface of a murky lake, as it were.
The Battle Begins! [https://i.imgur.com/dF8JHqZ.jpg]When the beam at last faded, it left a pure white-metallic circle of about four metres in diameter - Simply floating in space - Like some bizarre 2D doorway among all the blackness of nothing.
The battle was now about to begin in earnest, 'Invisible submarine no more!!'
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