5 Hours Later
“Beaming
in three… two… one…”
The
members of Hero Machina braced themselves as their surroundings spontaneously
changed from the interior of the Genesis
to the cold, rocky surface of the planet below.
“Whoa…”
Davídrius whistled, moving his body around to test the maneuverability of the
atmosphereless armor Greant had managed to obtain from a Black Suns ship,
“…It’s so light here!”
“We’re
at half Nimalian gravity, so of course it’d feel light,” Kevérin replied, just
as two four-wheel-drive trucks were beamed down next to the group. Each truck
seated three – a driver, a passenger, and a gauss turret with a gunner seat
mounted on the back. “Alright guys,” the Transfer Captain began, “Double-check
your equipment before we get going. We don’t want any of the atmosphere units
to fail on us while we’re down here…”
“Yeah,
that’d be pretty bad, wouldn’t it,” Christeané snorted as he jumped up to seat
himself behind the turret on one of the trucks. “Wheels, though? How far behind
are the Earthians?”
“Give
them a break,” Kaoné replied as she climbed into the passenger seat of the
other truck, “They’ve only been on the galactic stage for fifteen years or so,
after all.”
“Yeah,
yeah, let’s just hurry it up,” Davídrius urged as he looked up at the Riaxen
Deathnought wreck. The lifeless husk sat nearly fifteen kilometers away, but
still reached high into the sky and blocked the entire horizon. “Oi, Kevérin,
Rebehka, hurry up an’ drive already.”
“What?
Why do I have to drive?” Rebehka frowned,
though the expression was lost under her face mask and helmet.
“No,
he’s right,” Kevérin commented, jumping into the driver seat in front of
Christeané, “There’s no atmosphere here, so we’d both be useless in a fight.”
“I’m
not useless,” the Cryotechnic
countered, “I can still, you know, cool things down.”
“Things
are plenty cool here already,” Christeané snorted.
“You
know what I mean.”
“Uh
huh,” Davídrius deadpanned, “Even that’s only so useful. Can you snap-freeze a
moving target?”
“Well… I
mean, theoretically, I could.”
“I’mma
take that as a no. Now get in the truck already, we’re wastin’ time!”
“Hate
to say it, but he’s right,” Siyuakén replied as she jumped into the second
turret seat, “Just get in!”
Rebehka
sighed as she moved to climb into the driver seat of the second truck, while
Kievkenalis jumped into the passenger seat of the first. A few moments later
both trucks were revved up and moving toward the wreck in the distance, with
Davídrius following casually on foot.
“We
should really get equipment from the Black Suns more often,” Davídrius remarked
after several moments of silence, “They’ve got some real quality goin’.”
“If by
‘quality’ you mean ‘quantity’, sure,” Christeané retorted, glancing back at the
Introtechnic’s blade harness. Two sleek Blade Prisms, each holding two blades,
were attached to the armor by a hinge at the hips; a further four blades were
attached to the armor’s back, the blades crossing each other to form an ‘X’ as
two hilts extended up past each shoulder. “Exactly how many swords do you
need?”
“Oi,
oi! Not my fault blades break so easily at high speeds,” Davídrius scowled,
“Eight is perfect, especially if we end up having to fight mechs or tanks or
gunships.”
“Don’t
get overconfident, Davídrius,” Kevérin remarked, “You, Kevken, and Christeané
are the only ones who can fight back if we’re attacked on the move. You can’t
afford to make mistakes.”
“Nope,
I can’t fight here,” Christeané refuted, “I don’t have a battlehammer with this
armor. It’s close-range combat only for me.”
“And
even if the lack of an atmosphere hampers lightning strikes, I can still
short-circuit things from a distance,” Siyuakén claimed, “Well… I can try.”
“The
last thing I need is to be accidentally frozen or shocked or boiled while I’m
attacking shit,” Davídrius countered, “Keep your elemental attacks to
yourselves and stick with the turrets, I’m sure those can do plenty of damage.”
“But
whatever you do – and I guess this applies to me, too – try not to hit that
wreck,” Christeané warned, “I have a bad feeling about its integrity… a wreck
of that size should have collapsed on itself by now.”
“If
we’re lucky, the Riaxen will miss us and we won’t have to fight them…” Kaoné
muttered.
Kevérin
jumped slightly as a HUD element inside his helmet flashed once. After briefly
checking the information he replied, “So much for being lucky – we’ve been
spotted. There’s a full armored squadron coming to intercept us!”
Davídrius
glanced to the left, were a handful of gunships were coming into view.
“Gunships? Oh boy. Hmm, wonder if I could accidentally launch myself into orbit
if I jump too hard…”
“Leave
the airships to me!” Kievkenalis shouted, “You take care of the armor they
drop!”
“Sure
thing!” the Introtechnic exclaimed, gleefully drawing two blades from his
hip-mounted sheaths, “A real fight. Haven’t had one of these in a while!”
“Watch
yourself!” Kevérin warned, “If you get too active your atmosphere unit won’t be
able to keep up! You’ll asphyxiate yourself!”
“Hah,
as if I’d let myself die like that,” Davídrius snorted, “Don’t worry about me.
I’ve got this!”
“You’d
better,” Siyuakén responded as she swiveled the turret around to face the
gunships. “They’re almost in range!”
“Three…
two… one…!” Christeané exclaimed, followed by the turrets whirring into action.
Very shortly after hundreds of metal projectiles were launched into the air
toward the gunships, only to be deflected by the gunships’ shielding.
“Chaos Mach Three Piercing Cannon!”
Kievkenalis shouted, launching a Chaos Energy projectile at high speeds towards
the nearest gunship. The projectile shattered the shielding and pierced
straight through the gunship, ripping out two of its engines and sending it
careening ground-ward – but not before two mechs on board ejected, hitting the
ground feet-first and sprinting toward Hero Machina.
“Here
we go!!” Davídrius grinned, spontaneously dashing to the side. He cleared the
kilometer between the trucks and the mechs in the blink of an eye before
slashing at their ankle joints, only for his blades to simply bounce off as the
area around the ankles shimmered – the sign of shielding. As soon as he paused
to observe the shimmer one of the mechs whipped around and launched a salvo of
rockets at him, which he easily dodged by jumping into the air. Forgetting that
he was in a low-gravity environment, however, the Introtechnic accidentally
launched himself far higher than he had intended and soon found himself a
free-falling target for both mechs. Scowling, he quickly sheathed his blades
and then drew one of the back-mounted swords just in time to begin rapidly
deflecting the bullet barrage the mechs sent his way. Just before he touched
back down on the ground another Chaos Energy projectile ripped through one of
the mechs; the second one turned to search for the origin of the attack,
creating an opening that Davídrius immediately seized. Slamming his blade back
into its sheath and drawing two other back-mounted swords, he dashed forward,
stabbing both blades into the mech’s ankle, forcing it to topple over. He then
jumped over the mech and stabbed its energy core; he followed the stab by
ripping the swords out, taking much of the machinery with them. He then blasted
off back to the trucks, leaving the mech to detonate behind him.
“Chaos… Deflection!!”
A
sphere of Chaos Energy exploded outwards, surrounding the trucks just in time
to deflect the rocket salvo launched by the nearest gunships. Kievkenalis
immediately followed it with several Chaos Cannon shots but only successfully
hit one of the gunships, destabilizing it and causing it to go spinning to the
ground. The remaining three gunships quickly followed the attack with another
rocket salvo as they dropped two heavy tanks and three mechs, all of which
immediately opened fire.
“Ahh!!”
Rebehka yelped as several rounds fell around the truck, sending it into a
swerve that she barely managed to correct. “They’re getting too close!”
“We
aren’t equipped to deal with heavy tanks,” Christeané growled, “Mechs, we can
deal with, but tanks–!”
“No, we
can do this!” Kievkenalis insisted, “Chaos
Assist! Chaos… Massive Impact!”
An
invisible force suddenly slammed into the armored vehicles, toppling the mechs
– but only stalling the tanks.
“Er…”
Kievkenalis added sheepishly, “…maybe we can’t.”
“Their
main cannons are aiming this way–!” Siyuakén warned, but was cut off as the
cannons flashed, signaling cannon fire. Christeané immediately released the
turret and spun the whole device around, sweeping his fist past the side of the
truck just in time to intercept and knock away one of the tank shells – just as
Davídrius blew past and knocked away the other.
“…Tch!”
Davídrius scowled, glaring at the hilt of the sword he had just broken against
the shell. “Should’ve kicked it…!” He discarded the hilt, drawing two blades
from his hip sheaths before dashing toward the mechs a hundred meters away.
“We’re
eight kilometers out!” Rebehka shouted.
“I’m
not sure I can block a shell like that again…” Christeané muttered.
“Kaoné,
we need your help!” Davídrius exclaimed, his suit’s radio transmitting his
declaration from a distance.
“Wha-what–!”
“It’s
just blocking shit, c’mon!” Christeané growled, “Not like we’re asking you to
kill anyone–!?”
He was
interrupted as several devices suddenly leaped into the air several meters in
front of the trucks.
“Mines!!”
Siyuakén shouted.
“I’ve
got it!!” Davídrius immediately redirected his attention from the mechs and
dashed over to the mines, two swords in hand. Just before he could reach them,
though, they detonated, sending him flying backwards and flipping Kevérin’s
truck.
“Kevérin–!”
Rebehka exclaimed, immediately slamming on the brakes. Kaoné jumped out and ran
over to the flipped vehicle as Siyuakén attempted to offer sufficient cover
fire from the turret.
“Hah–!”
Christeané grunted as he smashed the back of the truck, freeing himself and
creating an exit for Kevérin and Kievkenalis.
“They
got us…” the Transfer Captain scowled.
“Chaos Strike! Chaos Strike! Chaos Impact!”
Kievkenalis called out, launching several Chaos attacks to force back their
attackers. He then glanced back at the Pyrotechnic. “We’re just going to have
to destroy them all before we… can… …uh oh.”
“What
is–? …Well, damn,” Kevérin growled after glancing over his shoulder and
spotting another six incoming gunships.
“Well,
if we’re no longer on the move, then I can finally contribute!” Christeané
grinned before dashing toward the approaching heavy tanks. “Kievkenalis,
Siyuakén, take down those gunships! Davídrius and I can take care of anything
on the ground!” Then, the moment that he was several meters clear of the truck
wreck and the rest of Hero Machina, he shouted, “Overdrive:
Omni Crush!”
Kevérin
watched the Introtechnic smash his way into battle before turning around, where
Siyuakén and Kievkenalis were relentlessly firing away at the incoming
gunships. “Kaoné… prepare yourself,” he warned, “Be ready to erect shields
whenever possible. And if it comes down to it, I need you to destroy the enemy
armor.”
“But–!”
“It’s
us or them, Kaoné. Think about that.”
A
hundred meters away, Davídrius shattered another one of his blades jamming it
into a mech’s core, causing it to detonate and leaving only one more of the
mechs. He immediately drew another sword to replace it before leaping into the
air just in time to intercept a tank shell, kicking it away at just the right
angle to knock away a second shell as well. The moment he landed he glanced
back at the toppled truck and spotted Christeané running towards the battle;
the Superspeed Introtechnic immediately blasted off toward him, clearing the
distance near-instantly before slamming his foot into Christeané’s back and
launching him forwards. Initially startled, the Superstrength Introtechnic
quickly calmed himself and then smashed his fist into the ground just as he
flew into the tank. The force created a ten-meter crater and destabilized both
tanks, allowing Christeané to easily pulverize them both – even through their
shielding.
“And
that’s that,” Davídrius remarked as the third mech detonated behind him, its
core slashed to pieces.
“We’ve
got to get back to the trucks…” Christeané declared as he glanced back – and
noticed a third gunship squadron approaching from the direction of the
Deathnought wreck. “Well, fuck!”
“Can’t
give up yet!” Davídrius exclaimed, “Brace yourself!”
“Huh–?!”
Christeané barely had time to respond before Davídrius kicked him again,
sending him tumbling across the ground all the way back into the trucks.
“Chaos Deflection!!” Kievkenalis jumped
in front of the remaining intact truck in time to deflect several rockets, but
the deflection field wasn’t large enough to block them all – two rockets got
past and exploded against the ground just next to the truck, flipping it into
the air.
“Shit–!”
Davídrius scowled, dashing forward and leaping up to snatch Rebehka out of the
vehicle as Christeané managed to grab the turret and yank the whole
contraption, Siyuakén included, to the ground with relative safety. The two
Introtechnics deposited the girls on the ground haphazardly before sprinting
forwards to deal with the mech squad the gunships had just dropped off,
ignoring the wrecked truck as it tumbled to the ground just in front of
Kievkenalis.
“Chaos Cannon! Chaos Cannon! Chaos Cannon!
Chaos Cannon!” the Chaostechnic repeated rapidly, firing off several
projectiles in quick succession in an attempt to take down the remaining
gunships. But with the attacks called quickly and hurriedly, they weren’t as
powerful as his initial salvos and failed to pierce the gunships’ shielding. Siyuakén
instead stepped forward and held her hand out, targeting each gunship and
attempting to interfere with their electronics – but her interference was
dampened by their shields.
“Haaah-gah!”
Davídrius spluttered, flung backwards in the middle of a dash by a
railgun-wielding mech. He tumbled to a stop by the trucks and then jumped to
his feet just in time to quickly slash an incoming rocket salvo to bits and
then step out of the way as Christeané came flying back as well.
“Davídrius,
Christeané, watch yourselves!” Kevérin warned, “Your armor’s shielding–!”
“I know
it’s low,” Christeané growled, “What do you want us to do about it? Stop
attacking?”
“Kaoné,
I know you don’t want to,” Siyuakén urged, “but you have to do something!”
“I-I
can’t just kill them! The, the pilots–!”
“Expecting
her to pull her weight will get you nowhere,” Davídrius snarled, “It’s been
known for years that the Riaxen don’t take prisoners! And still she hasn’t
raised a hand to help. What does that tell you, huh?!”
“I’m
not–! I’m not siding with them!”
“Well
you don’t seem to be siding with us! It’s us or them, Kaoné!” The Introtechnic took off again, his blades directed
at the approaching mechs. Christeané sprinted after him to join the battle as
Kievkenalis turned his attention to the gunships approaching from the wreck,
launching off several more Chaos attacks.
“…Shit,”
Kevérin scowled as his HUD lit up even further, “There’s more units approaching! How the hell can the Riaxen devote so much
attention to us?!”
“We
can’t hold out here… and we’re too close to the wreck at this point for the Genesis to beam us back up,” Rebehka
commented apprehensively, “Kaoné, isn’t there something you can do?”
“I…”
the Materiatechnic stuttered, “But, what if I–!”
“If you don’t kill them, they’ll kill us!” Davídrius exclaimed, “Get your head
out of your ass! There’s only one way to survive this!”
“He’s
not wrong,” Kevérin nodded tensely, “You’re a Lieutenant. You’re part of Hero
Machina. You’re in the middle of a warzone! And you still think you can get
away without fighting!?”
“I–!”
Kaoné was cut off as two incapacitated gunships swooped down overhead and
smashed into the ground behind her – just as Davídrius was flung clear over the
truck wrecks and several hundred meters further, landing at the feet of another
approaching mech squad. He was quickly followed by Christeané as three mechs
slowly approached Hero Machina, weapons drawn… and rockets primed. The next
moment, the rockets all fired – and then suddenly froze in midair.
“You–!”
Kevérin exclaimed, snapping his gaze to Kaoné.
“I
still disagree with all of you!” she declared, momentarily switching her
attention to the side to halt the advance of a heavy tank, “Maybe, we can’t get away without fighting. But
killing… is never the only answer!”
“Kaoné–!”
“Overdrive: Conflict’s Judge!!”
* * * * *
==================== End of Chapter 42 ====================
* * * * *
Data Entry: Atmosphereless Armor
It is a commonly known fact that not every planet has a livable atmosphere – in fact the vast majority of planets are incapable of supporting life as we know it, making settlement difficult. A small handful of planets – mostly Primary Fortress Worlds – have been terraformed into livable shape, but it was a long and costly effort that the civilizations of the galaxy are not interested in repeating. Yet, oftentimes atmosphereless planets possess some reason to be visited, such as the presence of Aldredas artifacts, or a crashed shipwreck that someone wishes to salvage. To deal with these situations and others like them, atmosphereless armor was created.
Atmosphereless armor is a subset of powered armor – it has armored plates to cover the user’s vital regions and a full-body energy shield for further protection. However, unlike powered armor, which has many different body-coverage configurations based on style and the commissioning organization, atmosphereless armor is always full-body and air-tight. These elements are not what make the armor able to function in hostile or desolate environments, though – the true key to atmosphereless armor is the atmosphere unit.
The atmosphere unit is a back-mounted device that automatically manages all atmosphere-related needs. It contains a CO2 recycler for transforming exhaled air into breathable air again, and it also contains a temperature regulator that will maintain the temperature within the armor’s shielding at comfortable levels. The unit also contains a specialized shield generator designed explicitly for environmental purposes. Instead of being designed to protect the user from outside harm it is designed to create a fully-sealed internal environment, such that air and temperature within the shield are separated from the external environment. The shield also prevents all light wavelengths under 350 nm (UVA light) from penetrating the armor, to protect the user from dangerous radiation. As a byproduct of the completely sealed environment, sound cannot effectively leave or enter the armor – though this is rarely an issue anyways, since the armor is mostly used on atmosphereless planets. To overcome the communication barrier atmosphereless armor possesses more sophisticated communication and data connection technology than normal powered armor, allowing users to easily communicate with each other even over vast distances.
It should be noted, however, that atmosphereless armor is not necessarily combat-grade. It can certainly be used in battle, but it is designed to protect the user from hostile or desolate natural environments, not against attack. Atmosphereless armor does not last nearly as long as normal powered armor when subjected to attack; furthermore, if the user becomes too active then they may begin to produce CO2 at a higher rate than the CO2 recycler can manage, resulting in the user asphyxiating themselves, or they may heat up the interior of their armor faster than the temperature regulator can manage, resulting in the user suffering from a heatstroke. All of these elements combine to make atmosphereless armor highly unfavorable for combat, but at the same time, it is the only choice for operations on atmosphereless planets.
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