"Sir, I've got multiple contacts coming over the forward hill!" Pattern 001's voice sounded scared even to himself.
He quickly retreated his Thud back towards the Core's forward base as his Commander came onto the comline, "Hold your position corporal! I'll have a squad of Goliaths at your position in a matter of minutes,"
001 acknowledged the order, cursing as he did so. Surviving that long against the three Arm Fidos that had just appeared over the ridge in front of him was going to be hell. The first Fido spotted him and brought his gauss cannon to bear. The two behind him followed suit. As one they fired, aiming their shots a little behind him in anticipation of his retreat.
So 001 did the unexpected, he charged. Two of the gauss balls shot over his head, but the third came in low, taking him in the knee. Shards of armor flew away from the joint, but according to the damage reports, nothing vital had been breached.
Then it was 001's turn to fire, and he did. Two shimmering balls of plasma leapt from the forward cannons of his Thud, arcing out toward the closest of the Fidos. The shots blasted away at armor, nearly breaching the softest part of the head. However, the advanced armor of the Fido was enough to keep it working. Another hit to the same area stood a good chance of taking it out though.
While the lead Fido reeled from the attacks, the other two returned 001's fire. This time both connected, impacting in the center of his torso. A ton of armor melted into nothing as 001 struggled to keep his suddenly sluggish Thud on its feet.
He succeeded in time to catch the brunt of the damaged Fido's next attack. This time the gauss blast to his head didn't have quite the same effect, the Fido had been forced to direct power away from weapons in order to keep its power supply running.
001 fired two more rounds of plasma into its head. The head of the Fido seemed to spin away almost as if it had been sliced in two. 001 would have grinned had he been able to, that kill evened things up greatly.
And then he felt more impacts all over the blocky form of his Thud. The two remaining Fidos were in perfect health. This was a fight he would not be able to win.
In desperation he fired off both of his plasma guns at once. In his haste he had aimed improperly and neither had connected. This was the least of his problems however, the damage screen glowed red around his cannons, indicating that he had blown a wire. The left barrel had shut down completely, while the right barrel was operating at only 25% normal.
The Fidos almost seemed to sense his troubles, as they began a head long charge at him. They each fired a gauss round at him, and the impacts caused his overworked kbot to come crashing to the ground. Trees were knocked aside as his mammoth kbot landed heavily on its back, unable to regain its footing.
Close, and getting closer, the two Fidos walked toward him.
_______________________________________________________
Thirty seconds later a squad of five Goliaths rolled into the shallow valley. They required only a few shots to dispatch the Fidos they found circling the wreckage of a dead kbot, its kind rendered undistinguishable due to the severe damage it had suffered.
The Goliaths burst over the top of the hill. Heading down they were able to make more speed than flat terrain would have allowed and so they came upon the group of Fidos hidden at the bottom much quicker than expected. Even though the Fidos had seen them coming, they had no chance as the Goliaths barreled into their midst
For Pattern 001 this was little consolation, the Core do not repattern any one incapable of killing a few of the Arm vermin.
He quickly retreated his Thud back towards the Core's forward base as his Commander came onto the comline, "Hold your position corporal! I'll have a squad of Goliaths at your position in a matter of minutes,"
001 acknowledged the order, cursing as he did so. Surviving that long against the three Arm Fidos that had just appeared over the ridge in front of him was going to be hell. The first Fido spotted him and brought his gauss cannon to bear. The two behind him followed suit. As one they fired, aiming their shots a little behind him in anticipation of his retreat.
So 001 did the unexpected, he charged. Two of the gauss balls shot over his head, but the third came in low, taking him in the knee. Shards of armor flew away from the joint, but according to the damage reports, nothing vital had been breached.
Then it was 001's turn to fire, and he did. Two shimmering balls of plasma leapt from the forward cannons of his Thud, arcing out toward the closest of the Fidos. The shots blasted away at armor, nearly breaching the softest part of the head. However, the advanced armor of the Fido was enough to keep it working. Another hit to the same area stood a good chance of taking it out though.
While the lead Fido reeled from the attacks, the other two returned 001's fire. This time both connected, impacting in the center of his torso. A ton of armor melted into nothing as 001 struggled to keep his suddenly sluggish Thud on its feet.
He succeeded in time to catch the brunt of the damaged Fido's next attack. This time the gauss blast to his head didn't have quite the same effect, the Fido had been forced to direct power away from weapons in order to keep its power supply running.
001 fired two more rounds of plasma into its head. The head of the Fido seemed to spin away almost as if it had been sliced in two. 001 would have grinned had he been able to, that kill evened things up greatly.
And then he felt more impacts all over the blocky form of his Thud. The two remaining Fidos were in perfect health. This was a fight he would not be able to win.
In desperation he fired off both of his plasma guns at once. In his haste he had aimed improperly and neither had connected. This was the least of his problems however, the damage screen glowed red around his cannons, indicating that he had blown a wire. The left barrel had shut down completely, while the right barrel was operating at only 25% normal.
The Fidos almost seemed to sense his troubles, as they began a head long charge at him. They each fired a gauss round at him, and the impacts caused his overworked kbot to come crashing to the ground. Trees were knocked aside as his mammoth kbot landed heavily on its back, unable to regain its footing.
Close, and getting closer, the two Fidos walked toward him.
_______________________________________________________
Thirty seconds later a squad of five Goliaths rolled into the shallow valley. They required only a few shots to dispatch the Fidos they found circling the wreckage of a dead kbot, its kind rendered undistinguishable due to the severe damage it had suffered.
The Goliaths burst over the top of the hill. Heading down they were able to make more speed than flat terrain would have allowed and so they came upon the group of Fidos hidden at the bottom much quicker than expected. Even though the Fidos had seen them coming, they had no chance as the Goliaths barreled into their midst
For Pattern 001 this was little consolation, the Core do not repattern any one incapable of killing a few of the Arm vermin.