Fives P.O.V.
I was heading towards a hole in the ground that was deep enough for me to sit in without poking my head out. I threw myself in it and slid the gun out of its holder. „Right, Rhino, you are going to help me now."
The hamster giggled, then replied: „But of course I will! Let's see what we can do!" How does he even imagine my job? Going around having fun all day on a battlefield? That's what TV makes you believe, the real world looks a bit different, but he will find that out sooner or later.
„Ok, this might destroy your view on shooting and war, but what you see in TV is nothing like what you are about to withness. If you have a weak stomach, go back to your friends." Rhino did look a bit worried now, but still stood strong in his opinion.
I heared steps not far away from me, and they only got closer, so I whispered: „Hamster, I need you to take a look where they are!" - „Alright, moving up!" I sighed. A tiny bit of dirt came down from where he stepped, but overall it didn't seem like he was too noisy.
„Alright, let's see... AH! Enemies! Four, half a click, bearing 'round 50 degrees north! Heavily armed, three assaults, one Rocket!" I was stunned. How did he just... „You speak military?" The hamster looked at me in confusion for a second, and said: „Affirmative! I learned it from the magic box!"
„What magic box?" - „You know, the thing with the moving pictures!" Now I understood. „Oh, you mean television... Yeah that makes sence. Do your people use the same words as ours?" - „Maybe... Ok, they're coming closer!"
I was prepared. „Ok buddy. Get ready." I pressed myself against the wall of the hole and waited for five seconds. That was one of the things we learned in the bootcamp, to count the seconds of our code names, and then fire.
The whole idea behind it was, that we wouldn't all start shooting at the same time at the same enemy, and most of all, that not everyones magazine would run out at the same time too. I knew it was pointless, since I was the only one to be at this place, but I did it anyways.
When I was done counting, I turned around and got into shooting position. A bit of aiming and I fired at the soldiers. Rhino was right though, they were heavily armed. Right after they spotted me, they hid and shot back.
I managed to take one down before another one could hit my helmet visor. „GAH! Not again!" I opened up the capsule and held it against the broken part. The beam instanly detected the titanigum that it was made out of and started fixing it.
Titanigum is the most commonly used metal of the Skulls. Everything we build includes titanigum of some sort, or its two submaterials: Tatanigum and totanigum.
When the capsule was done, I clipped it into recharging on my chestplate and continued firing at the Maxians. „FIVE! ROCKET!" Just when I heared Rhinos scream and warning I noticed a silver-metallic thing racing towards me.
I duck down, just to see it flying straight over my head, leaving a trail of smoke behind. Right after it missed me by just a few centimeters, I heared the explosion behind me, followed by the sound of trees being ripped out of the ground and falling over.
„WHOA! THAT WAS CRAZY!" - „THIS IS SO COOL!" I shot back, got another one of the assaut rifle soldiers down, but it ended again with a rocket directed to me. All I could do was taking it easy and getting one Maxian down a time.
Bolts P.O.V.
When Five and Rhino left, my focus went to the black cat sleeping on my chest while I was laying under a tree. Was it true? Did I really love Mittens? I never felt that way before... A sudden noise ripped me out of my thoughts. Gunfire.
Mittens eyes slowly opened and she yawned: „Goodmorning Boltie... How did you sleep?" Did she just call me 'Boltie'? Well that's weird, she never did that before! „Uhm... I didn't sleep at all. We are still on Maximus."
Just then she noticed her surroundings and her she jumped off me, blushing in embarrassed. „I- I'm sorry, did I nap away again? What is going on with me?" - „I have no idea... Maybe it's just the stress. Did you at least have nice dream?"
When I mentioned dreams she blushed even more and studdered: „Y- yeah... Well, nothing too important... You know, just normal stuff, being a cat, eating food, playing with a dog..." - „Wait, what was that last thing? I couldn't underst-"
My sentence was apruptly cut off, when a rocket hit a tree not even ten meters away from us. Mittens and I both jumped up at the same time and our hearts were racing. „Wh- what was that?" I looked at the tree falling over and the smoke and dust cloud over its stomp and replied: „That... that must have been a rocket!"
„This is not good. This never was good. I hate this! Why are we here? Why did we come here? We could have waited for ExoSkull to come back, half an hour doesn't seem that bad..." She went on ranting for a bit longer, then a second explosion went off, closer than the first one this time.
I had my conclusion: „We need to get out of here!", I grabbed the cat and threw her on my back again, then ran in the direction that Five went. When I saw him kneeling in the hole he was in, I jumped down too, but to my surprise the ground was a bit wet, so I slipped away and right into his armor.
„DOG! NO! GET OUT OF HERE! THIS IS TOO DANGEROUS!" - „This is safer than being alone!" The halfbot saw his opportunity here: „You are not alone, you have the cat! With her you will NEVER be alone!"
We both looked away from each other and I heavily blushed. Maybe she did too, I didn't see it... „We need to get away!" Another explosive pipe flew towards us, this time hitting right in front of the hole.
„Follow me!" One big leap out of our pit and we were on the run. The bullets hit everywhere next to us, hitting Five in the back, and his armor started to break off a bit. „Run further! I will keep on fighting them! Rhino, you go with the dog and the cat!"
Just when he placed the brown hamster on my back I heared the rocketlauncher firing again. The halfbot turned around, aimed at the threat while still running and shot. I looked back just in the right moment to see him getting hit by the rocket.
As he was screaming he flew backwards, and for a moment, everything seemed to have slowed down. The rain of dirt, the smoke, Fives screams and shouts, the sound of the explosion and a totally wrecked halfbot hitting the ground. „FIIIIIVE!"
I couldn't hold myself back, and turned around to see after him. Bad mistake. As I approached him, he still moved a bit, but then his head sacked down. After a few seconds that felt like an eternity, a light on his helmet started flashing red.
On, off. On, off. Was he... dead? „Five? Five! Please! You can't leave us here like that! Come back!" Mittens hopped off me and went to his visor. Something happened. A shudder quickly folded itself in and revealed Fives face.
He looked a bit like ExoSkull, really human, even though he wasn't from our planet. A normal man, not old, but a face that clearly marked a career as a soldier. Around his mouth there was a short beard, and his eyes were closed.
We had no time for regrets though, as the Maxians came over and said something in a language I didn't understand. They all lauged, except for the rocketlauncher guy. One of the other ones pointed his rifle at me and smiled. I was too scared to move.
Just when I thought my life was now officially over, we heared a whistle from the woods. The Maxians shrieked back and looked around themselfes. Then, out of nowhere, a dog jumped between us and them. It was a light brown boxer, with white paws and a white stripe that lead from his eyes to the snout.
„Stand. Back. Let me handle this!", he said. I noticed that he had something like a backpack on him. Suddenly, two little gatling guns popped folded out on arms that followed his eyes. They spun up and unleashed a rain of bullets at the Maxians.
Heavy armor aside, they were all down pretty quickly. The rocketlauncher guy started running away, but was caught by the boxer jumping onto, and shooting him. We all stared at the scene in horror, but also relieve.
When he got back, he cheerfully said: „You guys were lucky that I was around!" - „Y- yeah... thanks!" He retracted the gatling guns to his backpack and was about to say something, but then he froze.
„A- Are you Bolt?" Wow, he knows my name? „Yes that's me, this is Mittens and the hamster here is Rhino." - „Ok! Let's skip the smalltalk, my name is Mauser, and I am ExoSkulls dog. He is looking for you, we need to go!"
„No wait! What about Five?" Mauser seemed confused. „Which Five? We have many Fives!" I pointed at the halfbot laying on the grass, the light still flashing. „This one! The guy who got us here!"
„Oh... I see. Yeah, he's propably dead, let's get moving!" I refused to take this answer. „Isn't there anything you could do for him?" The boxer sighed, then replied: „Look Bolt, this is just one of a few billion halfbots we have. I don't say that his life doesn't matter, that would be wrong, but we can't provide medical assistance for everyone on the field."
Just now we noticed Rhino sitting on Fives visor, looking down at his face. He wiped a tear away from his cheek and turned around. His eyes were filled with water, and his voice was more than unstable when he said: „This is cruel... Why does he have to die?"
Mauser went over to him and sighed again. „I know. I know how that feels. Do you see the flashing red light on his helmet?" Rhino nodded. „Every halfbot armor is packed with basic life support. As long as this thing is blinking red, we know that the life support is working, and it's keeping him alive."
Rhino brightened up a bit. „So... you mean that he isn't dead?" - „Yet. He isn't dead yet. When the situation at 88.0 gets better, our medics will swarm out and try to save everyone they can. ExoSkull is already working on it, but we need to go now, or your planet won't survive!"
Right. Our planet. „Ok you three, saddle up. We'll discuss things on our way." One last glance at Five and the blinking light, then we were off to the outpost at grid 88.0 again.
Well, with Mauser on their side they shouldn't have too much of a problem, right? Let's hope that Five comes through... Special thanks to Advina, goodbye und schönen Abend noch.