Animus Complete Series Omnibus, page 280
“Save the ribbing for later,” he retorted as more pods impacted the station. “We still have more reinforcements on the way. Not to mention any coming by shuttle, but we should get started anyway. Even if we’re not the first ones there, it means we can clean the station up on the way.”
“Agreed,” Jaxon said and scanned their surroundings. “Although I’ve noticed that all we’ve seen are hostile forces. Where are the inhabitants?”
“That’s a good point,” Izzy replied thoughtfully. “You don’t think they—”
“Killed them all?” Kaiden asked and both she and Mack flinched.
“Nah, they wouldn’t have gone that far,” the vanguard stated firmly.
“I know it’s been a while, but you do remember this started with them blowing up Terra and the Council, right?” Silas pointed out and his teammate folded his arms.
“Yeah, but I agree with Mack.” Kaiden immediately drew the others’ attention. “Merrick, in his own demented way, has proven that he is doing this for what he believes to be the benefit of humanity. I wouldn’t put it past him to have killed some to make examples of them, but the rest are probably locked away somewhere.”
“Thousands live on this station,” Jaxon protested. “Where could they put them all and keep them corralled?”
“They may not care if they are corralled or not,” Silas replied. “They could simply want them out of the way.”
The ace recalled his Animus missions aboard stations and the pirate takeover scenario sprang to mind. “The underside of the station,” he said, thinking out loud rather than making a definite statement. “Each one has a vast network of tunnels used for transport and storage, foundation work, and all that. They could simply herd them down there and lock the exit.”
“It’s certainly possible,” Jaxon agreed. “If that is the case, we should still make getting the station under our control the priority. As long as they are not in immediate danger, we cannot shift focus right now.”
“I agree, but it doesn’t mean we can’t multi-task.” Kaiden pointed to Jaxon and then forward as he placed a hand on the side of his helmet. “Jax, take point. I’ll follow but I’m gonna make a quick call.”
The Tsuna nodded and gestured for the rest to follow him through the lobby area and up a flight of stairs. Kaiden activated his comms and hoped he could still reach the man this far out.
“Hey, Sasha, are you there?”
“Kaiden, it’s good to hear from you.” The commander’s tone sounded approving but also stern as if he focused intently or was busy, which made sense as he was one of the people coordinating all this. “What do you need?”
He was quite impressed that he could hear the man so clearly given the distance between them. “We’re on Icarus, heading to the main control deck,” he explained and took care to keep his eyes open and remain aware as he followed his team. “But we were talking and noticed that we haven’t seen any civilians. We didn’t want to assume the worst and I thought the area where they could be secured is in the bottom of the stations.”
“It’s a good deduction and also a fairly typical maneuver when stations are seized,” Sasha replied. He now seemed to breathe a little more heavily, which was disconcerting.
“So you already came to that conclusion?” he asked and paused in front of a ladder Jaxon had led them to while each of the team climbed one by one.
“We’ve planned this assault for some time, Kaiden, and already have plans in place. Certain leaders have orders to search for the civilians and keep them safe.” When the man answered, the distinctive sound of laser fire in the background was unmistakable. What the hell?
“Sasha, is the HQ under attack?” he asked.
“Not that I’ve heard so far,” Sasha replied, the statement punctuated by another round of shots. “I am, however, although it’s nothing to be too alarmed about.”
The ace’s hold on the ladder slackened slightly. “Wait, what? How does that make any sense—where are you?”
“I’m on the other station,” the commander told him. “I suppose I forgot to tell any of you that, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, you did!” Kaiden snapped and pulled himself up quickly and through the hatch. Mack closed it behind him and he looked at the group. “Sasha is a part of the assault, apparently.”
“He’s here?” Izzy asked.
The ace shook his head and pointed to the east. “The other station.”
“Do you mind if we pick this up at another time, Kaiden?” the commander inquired and heavy steps could be heard. “Something has come up that requires my immediate focus.” A loud blast was immediately followed by equally loud yelling in the background. “Very immediate.”
“Right, I’ll see you soon.” He canceled the link and looked at Jaxon. “Yeah, they already thought about the civilians. They are on it. Our job is still a go.”
“As we thought.” The Tsuna nodded. “It was a good idea to check in, though.”
“So where did you bring us exactly?” Kaiden asked and scanned the area. Their ascent had taken them to some kind of cramped hallway with a few pipes and locked boxes on the wall. It was possible these were tunnels for maintenance or crewmen.
“According to the map, I’ve brought us to the ninth floor,” Jaxon explained. “Using the ladder—which is meant for emergencies only—I found a way to get here without having to fight through every floor.”
“Oh, well, nice work,” he responded approvingly. “And this certainly would qualify as an emergency.”
“We won’t have a clear route, though,” Izzy stated and adjusted her visor. “I’m getting hits in the scanner and there are more than a few grunts and other assorted Omega standing out there.”
“What? Are they simply loitering around?” Mack questioned.
“No, they are setting up sentry guns and placing bombs on the main door,” she explained. “And we have a couple of our teams approaching. It’s an ambush.”
“Then we need to take care of it before they take our forces by surprise.” Silas tried to cross to the exit but she stopped him quickly.
“I don’t think you understand how many of them are out there right now,” she said firmly, her tone serious enough to give him pause.
Jaxon crept to the door at the end of the hall and examined it. “We can’t all go out as one, either. The exit is too small,” he told them. “If we aren’t careful, we would simply line ourselves up to be gunned down.”
“Let me out first,” Mack volunteered and his shields brightened. “That’s what I do best, I’ll keep the lasers at bay, you come out after me with guns blazing, and together, we tear them all a new one.”
They looked at one another and Izzy shrugged. “There’s a number of heavy hitters out there. They might bum rush through your shields if you’re their only focus.”
Kaiden put Sire down for a moment and dug in a container on his belt. “It’s still a good idea but needs a little change in strategy.”
Mack thumped his fists together. “What are ya thinking, Kai?”
“I’m thinking offense instead of defense,” he responded and focused on the vanguard. “Do you remember that mission we did with the women from logistics?”
His teammate nodded. “Yeah, the first day of our second year.”
He returned the nod and opened his hand to reveal a handful of shocks. “Remember that trick you showed everyone in the hangar?”
Mack looked at the grenades and chuckled as he nodded enthusiastically. “I’m glad I made such an impression back in the day. You’re on.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
“The other teams are close,” Izzy warned and turned to her two teammates. “Are you guys ready?”
“That’s up to the big guy,” Kaiden said and rolled the shocks in his hands. “I only have to lob them when he says pull.”
“Yeah, I’m almost there. I had to recalibrate the output real quick,” Mack explained and clapped briskly. “I’m ready to go.”
Jaxon nodded at each of them and took hold of the handle to the door. The ace stood next to him and gestured for the Tsuna to pull it open. Mack barreled out as Kaiden lobbed the grenades out of the doorway ahead of him. As Izzy had suggested, the Omegas in the hall uttered a few surprised yells but immediately began to fire upon the vanguard.
He pounded the floor and released a wave of energy that covered the entire room as the shocks detonated. The electricity caught the energy from his suit and burgeoned into a nova of electrical surges that fried the droids, sentries, and bombs they had been placing. It also began to drain any of the Omegas’ shields before it sent them into convulsions when the electricity coursed over their armor and deep inside.
Silas and Raul forced themselves closer to the walls as licks of static crept into the small tunnel. “You’re cutting it close, don’t you think?” the tracker asked and stared at the display outside.
“I didn’t hear you offer to calibrate his output,” Kaiden chided. “We’re good. He’s got this!”
Mack stood, his shields momentarily drained, and moved to draw his heavy pistol. Any Omegas left standing were only that way temporarily as they were still in the throes of the shock. They finally buckled and fell with no attempt to stop themselves. The vanguard waited for the last of the waves to subside before he called to the team as he went to open the large doors. “We’re clear!”
Everyone filed out and waved at the approaching teams as the doors opened. “What happened here?” one of them asked as the soldiers lowered their weapons.
“They were setting up a little surprise party,” Kaiden replied. “We thought now wasn’t a good time and asked them to kindly stop.”
A few of the other soldiers noted the sentries. “We could have taken a few losses here,” one mentioned and inclined his head to the Nexus team. “Much appreciated.”
“It’s all good.” The ace gestured behind him with his thumb. “The main control room is on this floor. We should get moving.”
“Right!” The military officer nodded and his group formed up and pressed on as Kaiden, Silas, and Raul followed. Jaxon and Izzy walked with Mack as he removed his power core.
“Do you have enough juice?” she asked.
“I have one more full core,” the vanguard stated, took it out of the container on his belt, and slid it into the generator on the back of his armor. “I also still have that partial, though. If I gotta nova again or I get tapped, it’ll be faster to replace it with the partial and charge from there so hopefully, I can make it last.”
“Well, remember what comes after this,” Jaxon reminded him. “The embassy is our next destination, assuming nothing goes wrong in capturing the other station.”
“This will seem like a cakewalk by comparison,” Izzy warned.
This only amped the vanguard up and he pounded his fists together and activated his shields. “Good. We don’t want this to be too boring now, do we?” With that, he began to run to catch up with the others, and his teammates increased their pace to keep up.
“This way,” the military officer whispered as the group crept slowly toward the main hall. “The area is circular with the main station in the middle. Keep your guard up. They can come from anywhere.”
“That seems to be the general vibe,” Raul muttered and touched his gauntlet. “Hold for a moment. I’ll send my tracker out.”
The man held a hand up for everyone to stop. Raul knelt, took an oblong device from his belt, and tossed it above him, where it unfolded into a winged device. He sent it down the hall and opened a holoscreen so others could see its feed. Not that it mattered because as soon as the tracker entered the space, it displayed a large cylinder that stretched a few stories in the middle of the room surrounded by rows of curved consoles and a few droids. Unfortunately, they could also both see and hear a blast impact it and cut the feed.
“Well, they are quick on the trigger,” Kaiden commented. Raul shook his head, took his rifle out, and adjusted the barrel to a shorter length.
“It looks like they are waiting for us.” Silas held his shotgun ready. “Shall we keep them waiting?”
“Think about everything they were preparing at the door,” Izzy reasoned. “Do you think they haven’t prepared the room for a ton of soldiers to come barreling in?”
“We’re hardly a ton,” Mack protested and tapped his chest. “Although I might be on my own.”
Orders were issued inside the room and the team members looked at each other. “They aren’t waiting anymore,” the officer announced.
Kaiden poked his head around the corner and whipped it back when laser fire singed the wall. “Quick on the trigger indeed.”
Jaxon opened the map of the station. “There is the other entrance on the other side. If we rush, we can make it there in two minutes or less from here.”
“Assuming there are no Omegas along the way,” Raul reminded him. “Do you think we’ll be that lucky?”
“Plus we would simply have them tailing us as we tried to circle,” Izzy countered.
“We would need some to remain here and keep them distracted,” the Tsuna answered and closed the map.
“We’ll stay and fight,” the military officer stated, and his team nodded in agreement. “We’ll keep them busy. They will probably send the droids to keep us at bay. If you can flank them, we can use the distraction to push in ourselves.”
“I’ll stay too,” Mack offered, “and keep them secure. It’s not like I can run all that fast anyway.”
The others nodded and the ace took another hasty glance around the corner. “Godspe— Shit! It’s those glowing bastards!”
A group of advanced Arbiter droids approached the group from the hall. Kaiden, Jaxon, Silas, and a couple of the WCM troops immediately launched a fusillade of concerted fire that met their shields. The enemy retaliated with blasts from their cannons to force the soldiers back as Mack stepped forward.
He formed a shield quickly as he jumped to the entrance of the hall. The ace darted closer to him as several large orbs streaked into the shield and pushed him back.
“Get moving!” the officer ordered as the troops formed up to support the vanguard, who created several small holes for them to fire through. Kaiden and the others left the area quickly, raced out of the doors the military team had come in through, and circled along the walkways to the other side of the floor. A few turrets dropped along the way but were eliminated by the soldiers who did not break stride.
Several rappel lines were attached to the railings and it seemed most enemy mercs along this route had gone to join the fighting below. It made their route easier to travel, although he hoped the thought had not jinxed it.
Jaxon blasted the console in front of the door and it instantly unlocked. He and Raul forced it apart and when Izzy and Kaiden entered the hall, it was clean. “We’re good,” she announced, although she hastily readied her weapon when a heavy thud was heard.
A large droid came around the corner from the hall that led into the central chamber. It was red with a curved head and white trim. When it turned to look at the group, it revealed a single shining eye. They opened fire on it but its shields simply absorbed the various blasts while it scanned the small team. When they were forced to vent their weapons, the mechanical continued to approach them. Its eye switched to red before it aimed its three-barreled cannon at them and the massive weapon began to prime.
“It looks like this might take more than a couple of minutes,” Kaiden muttered and retrieved his shielding device. “Get clear!”
The droid’s barrel began to spin and fired rapid bursts of charged energy bolts at the team. The ace threw the protective device out and dived behind it as he held Sire’s trigger down. The shield broke and the enemy focused on him, its eye fully red as it locked the cannon on its new primary target.
Chapter Thirty-Five
“Someone get those doors!” Luke roared as he pounded his hammer on one of the enhanced droids, crushed its chest, and kicked it away seconds before it exploded.
“Isn’t that your job, titan?” Raul retorted and fired a shot over his teammate’s shoulder at an approaching assassin droid. “Just break them down.”
“Look at those doors.” He swung his hammer into the side of an Omega soldier before he spun it as he slid across the floor and drove into the large doors to the lab. They didn’t give an inch. “I can’t break through with force or explosives.”
“Hey now, don’t make assumptions,” Marlo countered and gestured to two other demolitionists beside him with launchers. He charged his cannon as his companions loaded their weapons. Luke and any soldiers near the door moved away hastily as the three took aim and fired as one. Their projectiles struck home and generated a massive explosion, but when the flash and smoke dissipated, they only had light damage and scuffing to show for their attempt. Marlo opened the vent on his cannon as the other two reloaded. “All right. Luke might have a point.”
“We gotta hack them, then,” Flynn reasoned and opened the directory containing the names and specialties of team members around them. “We gotta have at least a couple of techies here, right?”
“Where are the other stealth teams?” Cameron asked and smacked an Ark soldier off him with the butt of his rifle before he aimed it and pulled the trigger to finish him off. “Are they still caught on the other side of the building?”
“I don’t know, but what about Indre and Chiyo?” Genos suggested. He held the head of a droid with the claw of his gauntlet and twisted it off. “Perhaps they can access it from their position.”
“That’s a good idea,” the marksman agreed. “Can you give them a call while we keep the rest of this trash off—” From above, spikes streaked into Omega grunts and droids and Flynn and Genos caught a glimpse of several drones. “Whose are those?”
“Who do you think?” Indre responded over the comms. The marksman looked up as she and Chiyo landed on a rail above. “Are you guys still stuck at the doors?” she asked before she noticed the damaged mechs. “And you lost the mechs.”
