Animus Complete Series Omnibus, page 235
He heard a yell and turned as two hostiles ran from a pursuing demolitionist. The heavy flipped a switch on his cannon, planted himself firmly, and pressed the trigger. A beam streaked from the barrel and both enemy soldiers cried out again when their chests were consumed by it. Their legs and heads fell while the rest of their frame melted away.
With a nod to the demolitionist, the sniper hefted his rifle. He felt like he knew the man, although he couldn’t recall from where. A few random images flashed into his mind of a tall, broad-shouldered man with messy brown hair and a goofy grin. No name came with the snatched memories, though, so he put it out of his mind. There was no reason to know much about each other. They had a mission to complete and now wasn’t the time for camaraderie.
An explosion in the distance made the man turn and he aimed his rifle in that direction to look through his scope. A small group of soldiers raced through the forest and trees toppled following another detonation. Enemy ships swooped over the mountains and one of them held a rod with a holographic emblem above it that displayed the Ultra Ark Academy logo.
It identified them immediately as the enemy.
Flynn located his team who waited for some direction from him. He raised a hand and pointed to the battle to indicate for them to join their comrades. They nodded and ran off, quick to enter the fray as their own fighters engaged the enemy dropships.
After a hasty scan of the area, he found a small space well-positioned for cover behind a small group of rocks and took aim. Before he could fire, however, he noticed an odd shimmer that seemed to move toward the demolitionist. He flipped a dial on the end of the scope to switch to thermal and confirmed the outline of an assassin who ran up behind the heavy.
He fired, clipped the shrouded figure in the shoulder, and knocked her off her feet. If he’d shot through her, he would have struck her intended target as well. Still, it was enough to mark her and alert the demolitionist. The man spun as the assassin appeared when the cloak briefly gave way from the impact. She didn’t have a chance to stand as he held his cannon above his head and raised a giant armored boot to drive it into her skull.
The marksman felt a small amount of satisfaction in that kill. For most people, identifying a cloaked soldier was almost impossible but for him, seeing the tell-tale shimmer had become almost mundane. The other way to know that an assassin was creeping up on you was to listen for unnatural sounds close to you—like the sudden snap of something trodden underfoot behind him.
He shortened the barrel as he lowered his head and rolled away. A plasma blade sliced over him and cut deeply into the stone he was hiding behind. Flynn fired at his attacker, but firing at close range—even with the shortened barrel—diminished the impact of his kinetic rounds. It was still enough to shatter the opponent’s shields and knock them back, however. His attacker used the momentum to flip back and gain some distance between them. He tried to line up another shot, but the assassin threw a grenade.
As soon as he noticed it was a flash, he instinctively darkened his visor but was a second too late. Even with his eyes closed, the brightness of the flash disorientated and blinded him. He could hear the assassin approach but he felt no fear and instead, focused on the noise, dropped his rifle, and drew his blade and pistol.
While he waited for his adversary to creep closer, he placed a finger against the lining of his belt and calmly tapped the switch positioned there for a moment. When he pressed it, his shields erupted and a crackling sound to his left confirmed that the barrier had thumped into his attacker.
Flynn deactivated his shield, swept a leg out, and tripped the assassin, who convulsed at his feet. He attacked immediately and thrust his blade down as his vision began to return to normal. It sank in but he ripped it free quickly before he stabbed again and repeated the process several times. Once his vision returned in full and he saw the chest of his victim no longer moving, he stood and activated the heat switch on his blade to burn the blood off. He flipped it to slide it back into its holster but suddenly, he couldn’t move.
He hadn’t been struck by a shock grenade, so perhaps it was a toxin? It was like his limbs no longer responded to his commands. He felt something strike the side of his head. With no shield to deflect the shot, his helmet proved useless. It was an energy shot, not kinetic, and simply burrowed through. In the next moment, the forest seemed to turn sideways before a flash of white faded and he found himself with only darkness all around.
Marlo received a message that the team leader was dead. The readout indicated a shot to the head, which probably meant a marksman had caught him in his sights. He felt a pang of pity but quickly let it go. His gaze scanned the field and drifted toward a ledge higher in the mountains, very obviously a sniper’s nest.
The shots from his cannon would deteriorate over the distance, so he would need to call in some assistance. The demolitionist raised an arm and pointed to the location to mark it. After a few seconds, he received a confirmation message from fighter four. He picked his cannon up and continued up the path as the craft swooped past him and launched two missiles at the nest.
At least two marksmen tried to bail out but they were caught in the blast. It occurred to him that he should send a warning to the others to keep their surroundings clear. Who was the leader now? Was it him? Why was his memory fuzzy?
He shook his head in an effort to clear it. There was no time to worry about it and he’d have to make do and report the problem when they returned to base. For now, a mechanical whine echoed throughout the ridge and reminded him he had a job to do. Fortunately, it looked like he wouldn’t have to run far as his job came to him.
A mech broke through the tree line and fired a beam at his teammates, but the vanguard in the group made a shield hastily to protect himself and the other soldiers. It wouldn’t hold for long, however. Marlo adjusted the firing mode to charged shots and pressed the trigger to make it power up as he began to run. He activated his bounce jet and vaulted up to fire at the head of the mech. The blast knocked it back and it stumbled haphazardly. Its massive arm swept along the ground and almost caught its own allies, who were forced to jump or roll out of the way.
The demolitionist landed while he charged another shot, but the upper half of the mech spun and fired at him. He braced for the laser to melt him, exactly as he had done to his enemies, but instead, the vanguard now stood in front of him and intercepted the blast with a personal shield he’d formed around his armor.
Marlo rushed out from behind him and fired his shot at the mech’s cannon. The blast destroyed the weapon and the blowback all but annihilated the rest of the arm. The vanguard’s shield drained into his hands and he created an orb of energy that he threw at the mech’s chest. When it struck, it launched the target off its feet and it careened into the enemy troops that approached from the end of the path.
The vanguard nodded to him and took point as the soldiers in the back ran up to release a sustained volley at the retreating enemy soldiers. The demolitionist vented his cannon and glanced up when a fireball crossed the sky. A dropship plummeted in flames and crashed on the left side of the battlefield, He paid it no mind at first and simply accepted that all occupants were killed, but a warning was quickly issued to challenge his assumption.
Alert. Havoc Droids. Alert. Havoc Droids.
Several droids emerged from the wreckage and immediately, chain guns and cannons ripped into the other soldiers. They were heavily armored, black in color with the exception of a golden circle with lines along the edges meeting in the middle—the insignia of the world military. It appeared they had finally begun to support the resistance groups, at least with bots and weapons.
He broke off from his unit and pushed forward to confront the droids. Yelling and pounding drew his attention to two more mechs that had joined the fight on the enemy’s side. He looked around to confirm that they were now being forced back. He checked the unit readout, which told him they were down to fifty-two units and eight fighters in the sky. Marlo focused on his cannon, lifted it, and shut the vents before he retrieved a charged spike. He knew what had to be done.
As he ran into the middle of the fray while his cannon powered up, he sent a one-word warning to his comrades—Zeus. Many of his teammates broke away and others held the droids and enemy soldiers at bay while he bulldozed into the battle. He lifted the spike, activated it, and shoved it into the cannon’s barrel. His shields soon burst and lasers struck his armor to melt through it and burn his skin. Kinetic shots penetrated too and continued through him. He drove his cannon into the ground and energy pulsed off it as he slid off it and fell. Soldiers on both sides now fled as the havoc droids tried to destroy the cannon and Marlo’s life slipped away.
The weapon erupted, covered the field with a bright light, and melted anything caught within.
“We lost another,” an Arbiter technician muttered and tapped the glass of Marlo’s tube. “What do the reports say?”
“He eliminated a fair number and even sacrificed himself to pull off a Zeus maneuver. The battle might still be won, although they have far more soldiers than anticipated,” a crewman commented as he walked down the line to compare the readouts on his tablet with the monitors next to the pods.
“Are there any issues with motor function?” the technician asked and made sure to monitor the demolitionist’s vitals and brainwaves. “De-sync successful.”
“Not with him, no, but the sniper, tracker, and titan all had issues. I think the sniper was actually caught because he froze.”
He gave a throaty, frustrated huff as he turned away from the pod. “Keep those three on ice for now. It looks like four to five might be the limit. Prepare the demolitionist for another battle. He should be ready to sync with another golem in a couple of days.”
“Do you think we’ll keep doing this?” the other man asked. “All the soldiers we got from Ultra, Sol, Alpha, and the other Arks are already on missions. The Nexus students are the only ones we have to use golems for. They aren’t working at peak efficiency, they can’t use EIs—”
“Yes, I know,” the technician grumbled to cut him short. “This was Keller’s best option. The early experiments to simply force the change without the codex and Master EI proved…fatal. We still need the troops and even if they work at only seventy percent of their normal efficiency, these are Ark soldiers—the best of the best!”
“True enough, but we’re wasting resources simply trying to determine who is what,” the crewman pointed out. “Of the two hundred and something we snatched, only a hundred and fifty-seven have turned out to be soldiers, engineers, or techies. The others are logistics or medical and we can’t do much with them or the less hands-on techs.”
“Again, I am aware…” He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Not that I am ungrateful for the help, but can I ask why you are here? You seem like you should be on the bridge or in engineering.”
His companion chuckled. “I used to work here, although in a different division. My job became unnecessary once that fancy EI took control of so many things.”
The technician looked up at an image of a wire-frame female face in one of the monitors, a reminder of the EI’s ceaseless vigil over the ship. “She has made the flagship very efficient.”
“Yeah, and left a number of us sitting around too. I’ve helped doing odd jobs on the bridge and in the bay and decided to come here for a while because the general…uh, is having something of a rough day.”
“What’s the matter now?”
“I couldn’t tell ya. He’s been doing so good lately and I haven’t seen him act so self-assured and cocky in a long time. I think the attack on the ship a couple of days ago rattled him.”
“That was hardly an attack.” The technician scoffed. “More like a brief tantrum by rogue military members. Do you believe the general’s ego has become so inflated that a minor scuffle would cause him to—”
“Attention all personnel.” Nolan’s voice boomed through the ship. “I have decided that due to the increased fighting and the various resistances that have cropped up since the day the Arbiter Organization revealed themselves to the world, we should make an example of these traitors of the human race. If they want oblivion, they shall have it. Prepare the cannon!”
The crewman looked at his companion, who almost dropped his tablet in shock. “He can’t be serious, can he?” the technician asked. “We need all that humanity can offer. I know some loss of life is expected, but to simply destroy a city for purposes of intimidation?”
“Does that answer your question as to whether his ego has gotten too big?” The other man shrugged.
“Merrick will not stand for it.”
“He ain’t here,” the crewman stated bluntly. “He’s still trying to get the embassy to agree to follow his plans—the ones still alive, at least. If the general becomes too much of a problem, you can expect a visit from that personal assassin of his.”
Dario looked out one of the side windows on the third floor of the colossus with a small frown. Nolan intended to destroy something? Without Merrick’s permission? What a cheeky little general he had become.
He probably should be more concerned or angry at this unexpected development, but he could understand the man’s plight. He hadn’t been able to secure the codex or Master EI at Nexus, which made most of the captured students useless. He still had to share military power with Damyen and now, the Omega Horde as well. To add insult to injury, he was once again sent to Nexus to discover a lost device Merrick wanted but wasn’t sure was still there. The order basically made him an errand boy, if that. They at least knew what they are being told to do.
As he watched the clouds draw closer, he began to walk away to gain a little distance. If one were too close to the mouth of the cannon, one’s body felt uncomfortably shaky for a while. Of course, he should probably say hello to Nolan and let him know he was on the ship, but it had been fun to see how he normally ran things when he thought no one was looking. Besides, he didn’t sneak aboard to backseat strategize.
When he couldn’t find Kaiden amongst the students captured, he worried he might have lost a fun new friend he never really had a second time with. The Gemini EI was never recovered either, so there was a good chance he was still alive. No doubt the fiery-blooded soldier would want another opportunity to destroy this ship and rescue all his mates, right?
The assassin was sure he would, and he was also sure he would be there to meet him once that happened.
Kaiden saw only the bodies of his comrades and grimaced when he realized his armor was shattered and Chief was unresponsive. He looked into the grey skies above as a massive vessel approached. A bright flash seared from the main cannon and heat enveloped him and his armor began to melt. In despair, he took one final look at the decaying bodies of his friends.
“Kaiden!” Chiyo shouted and the ace woke with a start. He was dazed for a moment and struggled to focus in the dim light of the Emerald Lounge.
He rubbed his eyes. “Chi?” he asked. “What are you doing here? I thought you were working with Cyra.”
“Come with me,” she said and offered him a hand. He could see both grim determination and a hint of panic in her eyes. “You need to see this.”
Chapter Two
A group of several civilians ran desperately through the alleys and streets of the west side of Tacoma. Behind them, above and to their left, were the robots that had forced through the city barrier only a couple of days before and breached the defensive line. Anyone who set out to try to find friends or loved ones, recover supplies, or hell, simply catch a glimpse of the city away from the safety of one of the bunkers could potentially be vaporized or taken by one of these Arbiter droids.
One of the men screamed in mid-stride when a spike pierced his upper thigh and he fell and rolled. Two of the others turned quickly to help but retreated when more projectiles narrowly missed them. The wounded man told them to keep running through his pained grunts. They did and his cries and curses were silenced barely a few seconds after they had rounded the corner.
Only several yards farther, they encountered another group of droids and frantically increased their pace down the street. The mechanicals landed on the rooftops and leapt down in pursuit. The distance between them closed and the enemy straightened to their full height and extended their weapons toward the group.
Some of the civilians clung to others and shut their eyes. One stood with determination etched on his face and his chest out in defiance. He refused to die a coward, even if it was only for himself.
Before any of the enemy could attack, laser fire from above distracted them. Several officers dressed in medium armor with jetpacks flew above and directed a volley at the droids while they wove easily around their return fire. One of them landed among the group and fired his heavy pistol at the original group of mechanicals that had now caught up behind them. He took a spike from his belt and drove it into the ground, and a shield began to form around the civilians.
“Stay here,” he ordered as he drew a second heavy pistol. “A dropship is on the way to evacuate you and we’ll keep them at bay.” With that, he took to the sky seconds before the dome closed. He headed to the west, firing at other mechanicals that had settled on the rooftops as two other officers joined him. “Wolfson, are you close by?”
“Aye, I dropped the last group off at the carriers. Do you have another?” the head officer of Nexus security responded and increased the speed of his ship as he closed in on their position.
“Yeah, a smaller group this time. I guess they were looking for supplies like the others,” Haldt explained, settled on top of a nearby building, and fired several shots into a droid below him. “The droid infestation is worse. Are the police any closer to fixing the ba—”
At an explosion on the main street, the officer immediately moved in that direction. “Dammit. Please hurry, sir.” He launched again when his pack fired and circled as quickly as he could to the street where he was greeted by the shattered bodies of two officers and the group of civilians huddled behind the shield while his remaining men struggle to maintain defensive fire. There were only two of them against several bots that were now backed up by one of the so-called elites, the enhanced versions of their mass-produced counterparts.
