John Alric Smith grinned as he deployed the LexCorp All Terrain Unicycles. The unit was a giant cheese wheel, and was quick to unfold. The Segway-like things were large enough to carry a well-loaded soldier. Yet it was fast enough to move across the land like a cheetah.
John raised his binoculars towards the clearing housing a town of tents. Their target was almost 110 yards from the edge of the forest.
People moved and John focused on them. Here were the things that made his skin crawl. Muties. Muties by the hundreds.
John stared at his friends. His comrades. The 9 who had supported him for years as their shared vision had unified them. For a better tomorrow. A clean tomorrow. A human tomorrow.
He shivered at the reality of so much disease and sickness right there. Right where he could almost touch.
The government was also ill. So many people accepted and protected these monsters. Mislead fools that refused to see God’s truth before them.
This is why he was here and why he had accepted this dangerous mission. To do God’s work. A simple run-in, drop off bombs, and return for evacuation.
There was a hidden rocket-powered shuttle to the west. It would clear them into safety in a minute or less.
Micheal and Sam shouldered the new weapons. Creed has gone all out with this mission. From satellite scans to the newest toys, to do a proper escape vehicle.
Now they needed to do what needed to get done.
Worse comes to worst… They could show their American passports and stay in jail for a few days. Then Creed would work his magic, and they would be on their way home.
These backwater countries all feared the US for good reason. This country was in the backyard of the United States of America! They could have a full naval fleet arrive in a day.
So they would return to the church as heroes.
“ATUs are ready. Weapons ready,” Jane said as she waited for his command. Their special backpacks were ready to get gifted.
Why they were like Santa Clause that way. Sad it was that the camp was full of naughty monsters.
A simple ripcord and it would drop the surprise after them. A nice, big, warm surprise.
John looked at each of his fellow warriors. Veteran Knights each one of them. Then, after today, they would all join the Knights Templar.
“Mount up, and head in. Fire at will,” John ordered and everyone scrambled to mount their simple ATU.
While it would work on rocky terrain, this smooth area for the Raccoon Camps was perfect. Excellent traction and it was all flat.
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The whir of the heavy motors kicked, and they were speeding off. The new Maltet anti-mutant rifles in hands.
Sam and Micheal were whooping as they rushed forward. Their ATU’s engine was whining as they reached peak output.
Then the towers screamed. John's attention snapped to them with a laser focus. This was new, and this was not good.
Intel said that their primary purpose was to house the arc reactors. Cables then providing power to the town of camps.
John frowned as he guessed one of its secondary features. The sirens now blared warnings across the entire camp. Like a kicked anthill, people rushed around.
The air-raid siren signaled the town waking up. More searchlights powered up and then focused on them. The onsite military moved right away to intercept.
John’s exhilaration and red fiery passions turned cold. The briefings said nothing about these military assets. They might save some of the muties, but he doubted they could stop everyone.
They needed one, just one to get the job done. They still had time to…
[Blam!] [Blam!]
Micheal and Sam opened fire towards the tents. Their rounds a laser line. The rounds punched into the tents and exploded.
Chunks of tent, dirt, and the meaty chunk of dirty muties. There were cries of alarm and muties running away. It was enough to bring a smile to John's face.
The earth rumbled, and a wall formed. Some devilish, God-forsaken power, no doubt.
The towers in the back glowed and green light flared to life. It whined and wobbled before stabilizing into a solid disc. Immediately a shape came flying out before something more important caught his eye.
A robot, a Scopemutt or whatever, jumped over the wall. It landed with a thump onto bare earth. With the searchlights highlighting them, it zeroed in on them.
It fired towards them, forcing them to detour around. It would catch one, two, or even three.
It wouldn’t be enough.
Then a second robot came sailing over the wall. Seconds after that, another two robots landed to bring the total to four.
Not only robots. They had those assault jeeps as well. Combined with the earth wall meant their plans were no longer viable.
Time for Plan B. Since I was in the lead, I began to slow down to a cruising speed. This had everyone else slowing as well.
“Captain. Orders?” Jane asked as she pulled up alongside him.
They were becoming outgunned. This straightforward mission did not factor in bullshit teleportation abilities. The Val Verde military was better consolidated here than predicted.
“We…” John began but got drowned out by the screech of incoming air support. Their ATUs jerked as the motors lost power.
As a team, they slowed to a stop. John raised his hands, and they all followed suit. He lowered his open hands.
They were to stand down. Jane shouted out something, but John didn’t catch it. He watched as a dozen hover planes circle overhead.
“We underestimated them. Intel didn’t give us the proper information,” John said as he spat out a wad of angry phlegm. He stepped off the now unbalanced ATU and allowed it to fall over.
“Yes sir. We return home and try again,” Jane finished his thoughts. As second in command, she understood him very well.
The team watched as more units popped out of the proverbial woodworks. Their visions became a blurred mess as more and more military units came up with the headlights on.
John clenched his teeth as the reality of his loss got realized and accepted. He had lost, but he wouldn’t leave empty-handed.
They now knew the way they would respond, and that meant they would try other means. More cruel means. These bombs at least were quick.
Bio-weapons were much slower. Like that T-virus that had gotten showcased almost a year ago. It was on the market now, and Creed had shown great interest in it.
John sneered as a dart hit his thigh. His world swam, and he fell over as he lost motor control.
His thoughts blurred as he stared at the approaching soldiers. These sub-human, mutie loving scum had won this round. They would not win the war, and he would have the last laugh.
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Chapter 50: ATT - All Terrain Terrorists