Animus Complete Series Omnibus, page 286
“I can’t say I’ve ever been impressed by their abilities,” Julius muttered. He fired a bullet from his gauntlet into the neck of one of the soldiers and his adversary stiffened and collapsed.
Kaiden delivered a charged shot into one of the approaching heavies and hurled him back. A Resistance titan killed him by skewering him with a massive blade. Izzy, Silas, Jaxon, and Otto fired as a group to force the enemy back as more shuttles swooped in to unload troops onto the balcony while other craft swirled around the embassy to locate other drop-off points.
“We need to get inside quickly,” Jaxon stated as he eliminated a shotgun-wielding Ark soldier. “If they decide to drop this biosphere, that will make things complicated.”
“I didn’t want to sit this battle out and take the view in anyway,” Kaiden responded. He drove the butt of his rifle into an Ark soldier’s helmet before he drew his blade and ran it across the man’s throat. “Push forward!”
By this point, their force was over sixty strong and together, they surged inside. Omega soldiers and droids soon joined the combat as the invaders pressed on toward the embassy itself. When he saw the mechanicals, Otto walked back to join a small group of other techies. They synced up hastily, opened holoscreens, or worked on the screens on their gauntlets to take control of the automated threats.
The Omega soldiers were temporarily caught off guard by the sudden attack by their own units, but once they realized what had happened, a marksman positioned himself to fire on the military techies. One took a shot in the head and another in the chest. Their combined shields broke and disrupted their hold on the droids. Several shock grenades were lobbed by military soldiers at the hostiles and massive arcs of electricity powered through them, shocked the Omegas and Ark soldiers, and shorted the mechanicals.
“Press on!” one of the officers shouted. At this point, explosions, laser fire, and kinetic shots both above and below them seemed to indicate that they had a foothold. A few more Omegas joined the fray, but when they caught sight of the fallen, they retreated hastily. The military pushed into a run behind them to pursue them through the halls.
Turrets dropped from the ceilings above, accompanied by both Arbiter and Security droids. The techies took control of some of the mechanicals, but most were mowed down along with the turrets as the team spilled out of the halls and into the foyer that overlooked the vast central lobby of the embassy.
It was surprisingly well-kept. The large fountain redesigned several years before was still standing, the banners of each race still hung proudly on the ceiling, and the large window provided a view of space. The original warp gate floated in the distance and was framed in the center, still intact. Aside from the plethora of Omega and Ark soldiers who flooded the room, it was a peaceful sight.
Kaiden leapt over the foyer railing, followed by a number of other soldiers, while teams stayed behind to fire at the Omegas from above. He landed and was immediately beset by an Omega Assassin that attacked with twin plasma blades. Before he could fire, the Assassin met an energy-charged punch to the face from Mack. It launched the would-be killer into a small group of its compatriots and the vanguard took point to generate another barrier as laser fire erupted from all sides.
“We’re surrounded,” Jaxon shouted, his weapon kept busy by a group of Omegas who surged from the entrance hall behind him.
“Good. It means we can’t miss,” Kaiden responded, retrieved a thermal, and lobbed it down the hall to where the Omegas were too bunched to scatter.
“More soldiers are joining the fun,” Izzy told them. “But we’re gonna need more firepower if we hope to push through at this point.”
“We need demolitionists,” Silas agreed as he fired his shotgun to drive an approaching Assassin droid back. “Or a team of titans.”
The battle was interrupted by a chorus of roars from above—a familiar sound to Kaiden, and a frightening one to the Omegas. “How about a team of Sauren?” he asked with a grin.
Silas and Jaxon looked to where the roof was torn asunder and several Sauren bulldozed through. They plummeted onto the battalion below and the Omegas immediately began to shoot wildly as the reptiloid hunters pounded into them. Bodies were thrown carelessly and cries of pain and shock accompanied the Sauren’s bloody assault.
“Yeah, that’ll do it.” The enforcer chuckled and hefted his weapon as their group fought toward the center of the fray.
Chapter Forty-Five
Sasha pursed his lips as the shuttle was rocked by a blast. “How is the battle going?”
“There aren’t enough forces for this to be a real battle, sir. The Omegas have the upper hand when it comes to their numbers on the embassy,” the pilot told him. “Any battleships here are simply to clear a path and make time for the teams to retrieve hostages and objects of importance. I’m not sure when they’ll pull back.”
“We should have thirty minutes at least,” a marksman suggested.
“We can rule out that they will have reinforcements,” the commander noted and, out of habit, checked his gun again. “We have the remaining forces on Earth, but I haven’t heard about the next wave’s departure.”
“Don’t worry about it, Commander. We’ve got this,” a raider promised.
“Are everyone’s weapons at the ready?” he asked and all his soldiers confirmed. “When we get inside the embassy and we have oxygen and gravity, unlock the doors and we’ll lay down covering fire until we can find a position to slow enough for us to jump.”
“The oxygen is no issue but the gravity is, sir,” the pilot stated. “It looks like all our landing positions are occupied. We are being diverted toward the central area of the embassy. I see a destination I can fly through but the artificial gravity field in that chamber is out.”
Sasha popped the chamber of his sniper rifle open, removed the kinetic core, and replaced it with an energy core. “Only in that section or the whole station?”
The pilot opened a holoscreen and displayed a map of the station. “Right now, only in sections C and D according to reports. Most of the battle is taking place in the central lobby and on the far side of the embassy. You’d be about five floors up and hundreds of yards away from that.” He eased the shuttle through a small chamber in the guts of the embassy and entered a dark tunnel.
“That will be fine,” Sasha told him. “When we’re near a bridge or landing zone, bank to the left and open the door. We’ll use the mag boots.” He looked at his team to check they had the equipment and received nods from all of them. “Some of us will eliminate any immediate targets when we’re still airborne while the others get below. All of you, be careful. Mag boots will help to keep you in place, but you won’t be capable of quick movement while you have them on.”
“I didn’t plan to run anywhere except toward the target, sir,” a soldier stated.
“Which is what, exactly?” the marksman asked. “Are we going after Merrick, sir?”
“While most of the enemy forces are concentrated in the lobby and hangar areas, we should see if we can find any hostages,” Sasha told them and sent a copy of the embassy map to each of the soldiers. “We have no confirmed sightings or positions, but these are the best possibilities. If Merrick is seen, notify me immediately but do not move to engage. He is still considered a dangerous target, even for a squad.”
“I can’t believe he used to be the chancellor who ran Nexus,” the raider muttered. “I think he was still running it the year before I went there.”
“Then I would take this opportunity to show how far you’ve come,” the commander responded as the shuttle emerged from the tunnel. It glided through a large interior section of the station with many bridges and pieces of floating metal and debris. Small firefights took place throughout the area. “And that you’ve surpassed him.”
“Aren’t you the chancellor now, sir?” one of the soldiers asked.
Sasha held his rifle tightly. “I am, and I recommend the same advice.”
The craft shifted as if to begin to nosedive. “We’re heading into the port now, Commander. I’m gonna try to drop you off at a safer point,” the pilot advised.
Sasha stood, held onto the railing in front of the door with his sniper rifle at the ready, and took a final look at his team. They had all lined up behind him and seemed resolute and calm. “You have your orders and jobs,” he said, turned away, and held his weapon in both hands. “Let’s get this done and bring this war to an end.”
“I’ll open the door in five…four…three…” The commander braced himself as the light on the lock changed from red to white. The door opened and when he dove out, the lack of gravity almost made him spiral but that was the plan. It allowed him to quickly scan around him. His trained eye located almost a dozen targets, although they seemed more distracted by the remaining Security bots than the new group in their midst. It would not remain that way for long.
Two of the marksmen followed him. Both held their rifles and the trio began to find their targets and eliminate them methodically. The energy blasts had much less kickback than kinetic rounds, but they were still tossed around and back somewhat. Rather than pose a problem, it simply made finding new targets easier and each man focused on a different direction than the others. The main group was able to pull themselves to the ground with hooks. They landed and all soldiers immediately delivered lethal volleys at anything that was not military or Resistance. They largely ignored the Security bots as they were hacked anyway.
“Sir, I’ve found a route that will take us toward one of the meeting areas,” one of the scouts informed him over the comms. “That’s one of the sections where they believe the hostages could be held.”
“Understood. Good work.” He delivered one more shot at a desperate pirate who tried to fly toward him while his back was turned. Sasha took the hook shot from his belt and fired it at the bridge. “When we have gravity again, I recommend switching to kinetic rounds. They will get through their shields easier.”
He reeled himself in and activated his mag boots once he landed. The others followed suit, used hooks themselves, and jumped between pillars and debris—or, in the raider’s case, using a quick burst from his jet.
Once he’d checked for any immediate threats, the commander turned to the door, where one of the soldiers was already placing a breaching charge. “Once we get through this, we should have gravity again, sir,” she informed him. “But we’ll also have more Omegas and Ark soldiers to deal with, along with the droids.”
“We knew that coming in,” he reminded her and glanced at the raider, who peered at the screen on his gauntlet. “What are you looking at, soldier?”
“A buddy of mine was one of the first guys to land. He’s fighting in the lobby.” He extended his arm so Sasha could see. “It’s wild, sir, and looks more like a riot than a real battle.”
“When you have two sides fighting desperately, most battles devolve to that in this situation,” he explained. “Is the charge ready?”
“Yes, sir!” the woman shouted and backed away. “Counting down!”
“Get behind a wall and turn your mag boots to full capacity,” the commander ordered and found a position behind a wall. “You don’t want to potentially be blown into space.”
“Three…two…one,” the soldier counted and pressed the activation switch on her gauntlet. The door was ruptured to leave a small opening. Sasha turned the mag boots’ connection down and approached with the team. Four of them took hold of either side of the doors and pulled to open the entry a little more. Two Omegas had run into the hall to see what happened but were felled by two shots from Sasha delivered in quick succession.
“Proceed,” he stated crisply and the team pushed into the station.
“Kaiden,” Chief said but the ace was busy. He drove an elbow into the visor of an Ark soldier before he spun and fired a charged shot at an Omega Heavy who tried to attack Silas from behind “Kaiden!”
“What?” the ace demanded, vented his rifle as he drew Debonair, and fired at two droids that had focused on him. “Are the others here yet?”
“Yeah, I just picked them up, but there’s something fishy going on.”
He noticed an Omega taking aim at him through a screen in his HUD that checked his rear. Reflexively, he ducked, dodged the shot, and whirled to fire several shots from Debonair into the man’s chest. His adversary collapsed as he closed Sire’s vent and holstered the pistol. “Do you care to be more specific?”
“I feel slight fluctuations in the embassy’s core,” the EI explained. “It could be simple flare-ups because the fighting is pushing the power higher than normal after a very long time.”
“Could it mean that it’ll blow?” he asked quietly.
“I wouldn’t push it that far. It could also mean they are activating warp gates, which is another big problem—among a few others.”
“And we can’t afford any of those right now.” Kaiden fired a few shots from Sire as he pushed through the crowd. “Send a message to the others that we will investigate.”
“Fine, but you are heading the wrong way,” Chief warned.
“I’m gonna see if I can get a tagalong,” he retorted.
Raza hurled an Omega heavy into the fountain’s statue and uttered a fierce roar as he drove his massive ornate blade through three Arbiter droids at once. Something raced toward him and he spun to face an Ark soldier who aimed a launcher at him. He growled and bared his teeth as he whipped his curved blade to the side and slid the droids off it toward his attacker. None hit as a blast from the side upended the Ark soldier and made him miss his shot. The explosive fired and struck the ceiling as a couple more Sauren dove from the floor above.
He looked at Kaiden, who approached him like a man with a purpose. “War Chief.”
“It is good to see you in battle again, young hunter,” he said to return the greeting. “Do you have Merrick’s location?”
“Not yet, but something is going on at the core,” the ace told him. “It’s probably not caused by us this time. I’m going to investigate. Do you wanna come along?”
Raza scrutinized the battle. It was large and ferocious but he was not satisfied with it. He nodded and slid his blade onto his back. “We will fix this issue and then hunt for Merrick.”
“Agreed.” Kaiden nodded and they hurried toward the core. Neither imagined that it might be where their true prey awaited them.
Chapter Forty-Six
“Coming in hot!” the shuttle pilot shouted and banked sharply as a blast from a fighter behind them sailed past and struck the embassy. The enemy craft was quickly intercepted by two military fighters as the shuttle pilot changed course and soared higher.
“We may need the shields turned on if this fight lasts a long time,” Chiyo commented. She looked from Indre to Luke, who waited eagerly at the exit.
“Come on!” He exhaled a frustrated breath. “There aren’t gonna be enemies left if we take any longer.”
“I am sure there will be, friend Luke,” Genos reassured him as he drew his cannon. “At least statistically, but perhaps not enough for your liking.”
“Do you think there is a chance they will simply blow the station?” Indre asked and folded her arms. “At some point, they will realize the best they can do is spite us.”
“If they haven’t already,” Cameron added.
The infiltrator shrugged. “It is a possibility. But with Xuanzang and Icarus under our control, they should be able to control remote detonation.”
“I did take a moment to look at the schematics of the embassy.” Genos tapped his infuser as he thought. “It is possible to begin an overload manually, but to do so is almost a suicide mission. It would require one to deactivate the shield containing the core and drop the balancing grid. Of course, it would take a fair amount of time for a small group to do this, and you have to deactivate the shield before taking the grid down, which is done in three parts.”
“I can see that taking a while,” Flynn agreed. “But what makes it dangerous?”
“While you deactivate the grid, you also drop secondary safeguards. As the core destabilizes, it releases loose spikes of energy and with nothing to contain it, almost anyone in the immediate vicinity would be fried. From my understanding, even with specialized suits, it is not guaranteed that you will succeed.”
“Still, even if they were able to get through two of the checkpoints, that would be enough to cause issues with the core and power sustaining the station,” Chiyo pointed out.
“Oh, certainly.” The Tsuna nodded. “It is not recommended.”
“I’ve found a place to land,” the pilot informed them. “Get ready as I have to bug out immediately.”
“Finally!” Luke shouted eagerly. “Let’s get in there.”
“Commander!” one of the soldiers called but was immediately struck by an energy blast from above. Sasha and another marksman aimed quickly and fired two shots apiece at four droids that targeted the group from a walkway above. All four found their marks and the kinetic rounds drilled through the robots’ heads.
The commander raced to where two others were helping the wounded soldier to sit. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, sir. It only depleted my shields,” she confirmed and shook her head. “The impact thumped my head fairly hard but never mind that. I’m picking up vital signs in that room.” She pointed to the doors she had inspected. “It might be hostiles but I didn’t pick up any energy readings that indicated weapons or armor.”
“Let’s take a look.” He helped her up as his team hurried forward to surround the door. The terminal was in lockdown so he cast Isaac into it. “Can you get it open, Isaac?”
“It will take a few moments longer than normal, sir. My apologies for the wait.”
