The Heister

Monday, 29th of February, 198 A.C, 19:20

“Research into a second Veil model at Veridian Academy has hit a roadblock after a security breach resulted in the loss and destruction of key lab materials. VA refused to comment on the culprit or extent of damages, but called the attack ‘corporate’ in nature and claimed that the setback would be minor.” - SNN Bulletin

~On your left

I spun and placed a shot through the skull of a lupus about to overtake the poor sod next to me. The Pugilist, Duelist, and Berserker were doing their best, but with the vanguard’s retreat, even more Psychons were piling up against the wall and spilling out over the top. Not to mention–

:AKSGKLEKG up!

Trace still wasn’t used to fights, but she got her point across well enough. Three more shots to drop the corpi swooping down at me. Their movements looked chaotic from the outside, but with my Veil, they may as well have been clay pigeons.

Speaking of which, the Veil was picking up something to my right. Felis getting ready to pop in. I stuck my revolver into my waistband to get a better grip on my bat. I timed my swing to connect just as the thing appeared, giving it about a picosecond to react before the composite material sent it tumbling over the wall with a wet clank.

Screams down the row. Psychons had broken through the line and were flowing over the back of the wall. I swiped a spear from a fallen soldier on my way over – he wasn’t gonna be getting much use out of it anyway.

~Priority should be boxing in the leak

Right. The soldiers could handle the cleanup once the Psychons’ momentum was stopped. I hit the wave spear-first, sticking the tip deep into a chest-tall taurus. While it stumbled, I gripped the spear tight in my left hand and gave the monster a swift kick that sent it tumbling over the back of the wall, black mist wafting off the spear as it pulled free. The rear guard would be able to handle things from there.

I turned to face the incoming tide and almost caught an antler to the face. I ducked down and stuck the cervid with my spear, but the hit didn’t slow it at all. It wrenched the spear out of my grasp and flew over the wall. Fortunately for the rearguard, the beast’s landing was less than graceful. It landed squarely on the spear shaft, skewering itself right through the chest. The spear clattered against the pavement as the last of the Psychon vanished.

~What a way to go

Next up were two lupi, each sorted with their very own 10 millimeter chunk of lead. Then a serpentes, dispatched in brutal form with my bat. The corpi were getting testy again, so I emptied my last two shots as a way of persuading them to retreat.

Almost bottled up, but – and here was a new one – a parody of a crab about the height of the Scrapper had scuttled over the wall. Didn’t get too many carcinus out in the fringes, but I heard the greedy bastards were a real scourge within the corpo world. Like attracts like, I supposed.

The soldiers were engaging it, but their spears wouldn’t be able to do much of anything against that carapace. The spearhead of one particularly unfortunate individual clinked off the Psychon’s armor and left them wide open to the crab’s crusher claw.

:Oh I think I’m going to be ill

~Please don’t vomit in our headspace

I went in before it had the chance to brutalize anyone else. Sneaking in between its claws, I brought my bat down with a crACK. The crab-thing’s shell was splintered at the point of impact, and a web of cracks snaked out along its top and side.

It was still very much standing – er, crawling – though. It clicked angrily and brought its pincer claw in from the right, promising a quick torso amputation.

~No time to dodge

~ Jam it with the bat

I spun my beloved bat sideways and thrust it between the pincers, hoping it would act like one of those wooden planks people use to block sliding doors. Sure enough, the claw tried to snap shut around me, but clamped down on the bat instead.

I slipped out of the pincer’s danger zone, not wanting to test the bat’s strength. The poor thing was already beginning to flatten against the carcinus’ vice grip.

I dove under the crusher claw and rolled back up, leaping onto the carcinus’ back. Claws swiped at me but I was just out of reach.

I took out my revolver. The cylinder was empty, all seven shots spent, but it still had one trick hiding in its inner workings. I tweaked the hammer, bringing it out of alignment with the top chamber. Instead, the firing pin now hovered over something tucked away right in the middle of the cylinder. A seventeen millimeter slug cartridge with its own break action barrel. A little extra spice for when I needed it.

I extended the weapon down towards the crack I had made earlier with my bat. I squeezed the trigger and–

B-FOOM

Even with both hands on the grip, the kickback was insane. Felt like my hands would shatter. The carcinus reared back as the slug went clean through into its squishy bits. I barely controlled my fall as its thrashing threw me off its back. The clicking slowed eventually, then stopped. The flattened remains of the slug plinked against the wood of the rampart, followed shortly by the clattering of my bat.

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~Oh no

My poor bat… My poor, loyal bat. It had done its best, but those pincers had left it warped beyond usability. The handle had buckled under the strain and now stuck out at a right angle. The other end wasn’t doing much better.

I lifted the bat’s mangled corpse gingerly and fit it as best I could back in its case. I would have to make the preparations for a martyr’s funeral once the night was over.

~It was a steadfast friend

Couldn’t have asked for a better battle companion.

~Gave its life for you

I wiped my eyes. It would have wanted me to fight like hell with the opportunity it gave me.

I reloaded my gun. There was another breach a ways down the wall. The Aegis was there already, but it would take the both of us to stem it. I grabbed an abandoned ball peen hammer off the ground and moved out.

The Scrapper zipped past me along the way, red-blue aura on full blast. I only had time to notice one thing about her before she was gone; there was blood on her hands.

***

The Scrapper

No time to fight. Too many injured. I grabbed another one and carried them to the triage zone. The Surgeon was angry, more so each time I brought someone with me. He didn’t say anything, just motioned me to put the volunteer down on a stretcher. He was working on two people at once, glowing threads curling down to their wounds before pulling taut.

Back to the wall. My lungs couldn’t get enough air in and my head was getting light, but there was no time for a break. Another group of Psychons broke through the line next to me. I jumped to action, flipping my Veil on and raringtogohooboywhatarushIflewatthemonstersandbouncedaroundlaughinggleefullybonkingthemontheheaduntiltheywereallgonedoingmyjobasaprotectivespiritlikeIrasaid!

I propped my hands up on my knees, trying to catch my breath. I caught a few thankful glances, but most of the volunteers just moved grimly back to the edge of the wall.

I counted the fallen from the engagement. Six down in total. One was only slightly wounded, thanks to my intervention. She got up and patted me on the back, muttering something about me saving her life. Two more were breathing, one unconscious and the other limping towards the stairs with the help of another volunteer. The three others… were gone. No lung movement, no pulse.

I picked up the unconscious one, juicingmyselfupwithmyVeiltomakethetripasfastaspossible. I laid them down on a stretcher, but a nearby medic shook her head after inspecting them. Even with my Veil, it was too late.

It was at about this point, I think, that I first felt it. A deep, watery feeling rising up from my feet and sloshing around when I moved. I tried to quash it down, but, like a real liquid, it wasn’t the kind of thing you could compress.

I had to find Dad. If I could just see him, fight alongside him, maybe the feeling would go away. I bounced erratically around the barricade, scanning the front line and, with great hesitation, the casualties underfoot.

I finally spotted Dad’s jacket near the Eastern end of the wall segment. He had it zipped up to his chin so the padding inside could protect as much of his body as possible. His Knockout baton was dangling from a belt loop on his jeans, ready to go in case something got past his spear. That bad lung of his had him huffing and wheezing as he fought, but here and there he would find a few seconds to step back and catch his breath.

The watery feeling stilled at the sight of him, but didn’t go down. I grabbed my Squall and ran to help clear out the Psychon pile he and the other volunteers in the area were trying to clear.

I gave my Veil a short shotofjuicejustenoughtoflip over Dad’s head and let out a spray of gunfire down onto the bunched up beasts. Working out the giddiness from the move, I hit a pose as I landed like I was a gymnast completing their routine.

Something snarled behind me and I sprungbackupwithanotherjolt. The jaws of several lupi snapped shut on my afterimage, but I was already sailing a good five meters up through the air. My trajectory took me back to the pile, where all sorts of horns, teeth, and claws waited. Fortunately for me, I had my Veil.

I flipped the switch just before I landed and bouncedoffonePsychon’shornswhichoofitlookedliketheimpactsnappedoneofitsvertebraewaitdidPsychonsevenhavevertebraeanywayitpoofedoutofexistenceandIkeptdoingthatagainandagainjustbouncingaroundbeforeanyofthecreepycrawliescouldgetinahitnotdoingtoomuchdamagemyselfbutkeepingtheirattentionoffthevolunteerswhichreallyhelpedthemgetgoodhitsinandclearoutthepilelooksliketheyhaditcoveredsoIhoppedbackupthewalland shut off.. my Veil…

I dropped to my knees and leaned back. Head to the sky… Gasping for whatever air I could get through that kitsune mask of mine. Head was lighter than a helium balloon. Say what you want about Veils… mine was not very breathable. Did not agree with the anemia at all.

There were a few black spots in the center of my vision. That probably wasn’t a good sign. Or… Wait. As my eyes cleared, it became clear that those weren’t blackspots. They were corpi.

Something pushed me hard to the left. I skittered a few meters along the ground and rolled to a squat, adrenaline giving me a very brief second wind.

The watery feeling rose to my neck when I saw the source of the push. Three corpi had latched onto Dad’s jacket and were pecking furiously at his chest and face. He bellowed as loud as his good lung would allow and beat at them with his baton. I tried to run to his help, but my left leg buckled about halfway there and I fell to one knee.

Another volunteer noticed the peril and began stabbing at the monsters with the flat end of his spear. I thought I recognized the man. Maybe one of Dad’s work friends?

I tried again to get up, but the watery feeling was filling my head. The air caught in the back of my mouth and forced me to breathe, sputtering, through my nose. I knew I was hyperventilating but I couldn’t seem to stop.

With the other volunteer’s help, Dad stamped out the last of the birds. A moment later he collapsed, clutching his chest where the jacket was most shredded. Blood seeped from his face and stained the wood beneath him.

I lost control. I’m not sure exactly when my Veil turned on. I don’t *remember* my Veil turning on. I remember being on the ground, then on the move, repeating the same phrase over and over.

“You’ll be ok?”

I think I meant it as a reassurance, but it came out more like a plea.

My Veil must have been off after I dropped Dad on a stretcher. I didn’t stick around to check in with any of the nearby medics. I was too afraid to open that particular Schrödinger’s box.

The watery feeling had completely engulfed me at this point. I couldn’t manage more than a choked gurgle in my desperate attempts to breathe. The possibility of going back up to fight didn’t even cross my mind. I had to find somewhere to be alone.

I dragged my way through the field hospital until I found a tent filled with surplus supplies. I held myself together just long enough to make sure nobody else was inside. Then I sunk to the ground behind a crate and took off my Veil.

***

Beck

And I just… fell apart.