Chapter 26: Beam/Battleship
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"Ma'am, something is happening on the target."
The battle between G.U.N. and the Battlebird Armada was still raging, with mixed results. The dogfights were clearly going in the Federation's favor. The G.U.N. pilots were better and their vehicles stronger than the battlebirds'. The combat between to two colossi, though, was not going well.
Rouge blinked as a large section of the battle station, still diminutive compared to Babylon Six itself, detached and started falling towards the water. A small flying vehicle zipped out of the very same hole Miles had caused, taking evasive actions once it realized there was a full on furball happening in the skies.
"Keep firing at will," ordered the bat, as the fallen segment exploded, and the zebra operator nodded. "Try to raise me that pilot."
The human operator smirked. "Already done."
Rouge grabbed an offered communicator. "Miles, is that you? Since when can your sub fly?"
A bit of static followed, then crystal clear communication. "Rouge? I see, we're out of Cocoa Island's influence."
The agent sighed, a bit relieved. "About time. I'm adding you to the Invictus One TacNet. We wouldn't want to shoot you down by accident. Are the other two with you?"
A long pause. "We got separated and I was trapped in the discarded section. I need to get back in." Some explosions followed and the human operator let out a whistle of appreciation.
Rouge eyed him amused. "We'd wish we were that good at four years of age, huh?" The operator eyed her blankly, obviously convinced she was pulling his leg. "We are in a bit of a standstill here, Miles. I hate to say it but we are losing this battle."
"Aim for the dome, not the spire. The dome is full of modern tech, without the ancient Babylonian super-science protecting it," advised the two tailed adept.
The bat sighed. "It's shielded. Some kind of invisible bubble."
"Give me a moment."
Invictus One and Babylon Six fired at each other again. Another breach was suffered by the former, another dent by the latter. The zebra operator shook her head. "At this point it's a tossup whether we'll disable that one weapon before they disable us completely."
"Give the kid a chance. You won't find a better mechanic in all of Federation," declared Rouge, hoping her words were right.
The zebra operator raised a brow. "If he's half as good a techie as he is a pilot, I believe it."
They watched as Miles performed an acrobatic loop, destroying two battlebird jets with a hail of bullets, then released half a dozen torpedoes. The aquatic projectiles couldn't exactly move in the air, so he used them as bombs and let gravity do the work for him. They collided with the bubble shield protecting the dome and failed to penetrate.
"Rouge, can you hear me? That's no Babylonian defense, it's just an extra strong W.R.E.C.K.S. shield," he explained with contempt. "Decent, but it's weak against Chaos attacks. Send me you main cannon's specs."
"Do it," said Rouge and the operator nodded. "It's the best chance we've had all day."
The kit finished analyzing the data surprisingly fast and even downed another enemy jet in the process. "The conversion won't be too hard and it can be done from where you are. No need to go to the actual cannon. Have you got any Chaos rings on you?"
The bat snorted. "Always."
"Good. What about an actual technician? I'd come down and do it myself, but I'm a bit occupied right now," he explained, more explosions sounding in the background.
The Zebra operator eyed Rouge with conviction. "I can do it, ma'am," to which Rouge nodded. "Miles, can you hear me? I'm right here next to Rouge and I'm ready to follow your instructions."
"What is your name?" asked the kit, to which the zebra blinked.
"Call me Domino. Everyone does," she replied amused, sounding a bit more at ease than a second before.
"Very well, Domino. I want you to open your console and locate the firing system motherboard. Then try to find an Aegis model extension card on it and tell me what else it's connected to." Two more battlebird jets were decimated.
"Done and done. It's plugged to a Bentech extension card at points A3, A4 and A5." A Federation jet caught fire in the air and crash landed on the already savaged deck of Invictus One just short of the command center. A firefighting crew rushed to the spot almost at once.
"Cheap trash," snarled Miles as he rammed one of the enemy crafts, blowing it up to pieces without even slowing down. "Rip it out and try to find another Aegis card. If you use inferior circuits, the Chaos Force will eat them for breakfast."
Domino rushed to an unused console and practically ripped the lid open. "I got one!" she declared. Another burst of laser hit the battleship and she almost lost her footing, but Rouge, shouting commands the whole time, had the presence of mind to catch her. "Thanks, boss."
Miles spoke again, while trying to shake four automated drones that were trying to attach on his craft and drill through. "Connect the two Aegis cards together. A3 to A5, A4 to A4, A5 to B1. Are you a Chaos adept, Domino?"
"All done, and no, sir, not even a little. Is that a problem?" A lucky missile managed to sneak past their defense net and slammed on the glass screen of the command center, which cracked but withstood the blow, albeit barely, showering tiny pieces of glass all over.
The kit sounded relieved. "On the contrary. We need a ring that's not depleted. A Chaos adept could draw power by accident during stress."
"No stress here, sir," joked the zebra, as she wiped a few shards of glass from her hair.
Miles giggled while causing the drones to collide with each other. "Nice try, Domino, I saw that missile. Now, take the ring and a few spare wires. Secure it somewhere out of the way. Connect the first Aegis card on it through B1 and the second through A5. You already have a cable in A5, so try to rig it all together."
The zebra operator struggled a bit, as another missile exploded nearby. "Done."
"Now it's the hard part," warned the kit. "Find an L3 stabilizer circuit."
Domino paused. "Our jets have one each. I need fifty seconds!" She dashed outside, heedless of the danger, approaching the fallen jet, where the fire had just been extinguished. Without explanation, she grabbed a pair of gloves off a fireman and rushed into the now white smoke, wrench in hand. It took her another 30 seconds to return to the command center, prize in hand and only a couple mild burns for her trouble. "Got it."
Miles sighed in relief. "Now follow my directions exactly. This is dangerous…"
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"Status report," requested the battlelord calmly.
"Hot lab 1 was detached without issues. Our dome shield is still at 100 percent. We can still fire the Red Claw, but they keep aiming for the module above it and the shielding there won't last forever," reported on of his aides.
The great condor hybrid nodded. "What about our VIPs?"
Another aide took over. "The shark and the fox are slowly making their way to the main reactor," he replied a bit uneasily. "The Mael-Sprawler is still flying around us, dominating anyone who tries to engage him."
"I see. Keep moving towards South Island. If you can sink that ridiculous ship, so much the better. I will take care of our guests personally," he decided. "Come, my son," he added a bit sadly. "I would like to see you in action."
The figure next to him silently complied.
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"It should be ok," said Miles confidently. "The ring will last for about ten shots. You'll need to replace it afterwards. Fire at least once at the dome. It should be enough. Afterwards you'll find your shots 65 percent stronger against that laser battery at the station's bottom."
Domino nodded, wiping the sweat from her stripped forehead. "Permission to fire, ma'am?"
Rouge nodded, though she did take a step back from the zebra's console. "Target is the dome part of Babylon Six. Fire when ready."
Miles dodged another missile, then nodded as Invictus One fired again. This time, the golden beam punched right through the forcefield bubble and collided with the actual dome, blowing apart a small part of the metal bunkers located there.
"This thing is so huge that even without the shield it will take forever to destroy," muttered the bat, disheartened despite the success. As if on cue, the Red Claw fired again, adding another hole to the battleship's haul. "Domino, focus on the laser again. All squadrons, attack through the shield breach!"
"Rouge, you should retreat," cautioned Miles even as he passed through the forcefield hole himself and attacked the battlebirds on the surface of the flying fortress.
The bat gritted her teeth. "Even if I wanted to leave you all alone in there, I can't. This Armada monstrosity is heading for South Island. We were contacted some minutes ago from Central Command. We are to stop them at all costs."
Miles sighed. "What is going on on South Island anyway?" he demanded.
Rouge practically growled at him. "I still don't know! It's so classified I'm starting to wonder if anyone does."
The kit shook his head. "Your ship can't win this, Rouge. It's a miracle it's still floating. From up here it looks like a sponge! Learn what's going on. Tell them to stop, or relocate, or evacuate whatever is happening there.
The G.U.N. agent sighed. "I'll try. I'll also try to disable that laser before it's above the island. Carpet bombing is one thing, but if they decide to use that on the city, nothing will survive. What about you?"
The determination in his words was almost palpable. "I'm finding Vertigo and Ice, then I'm ending this."
Everyone on the bridge watched as the flying submarine bombed a hole through the fortresses' hull and vanished inside.
"Orders, ma'am?" asked Domino.
Rouge closed her eyes and sighed, her ears twitching. "We can't let a toddler show us up," she decided, a smile tugging at her face. "We will keep attacking until we are forced to swim home!"
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Mikel was a simply mobian. Wake up, follow orders, relax, sleep, repeat. He had never been ambitious, which was why he had ended up coordinating one of the many small hangars littering the body of Babylon Six. He knew the basics of how to fight, all battlebirds surviving puberty did, but he had never been in live combat before. When the door to his control post exploded off is hinges and his friends started dying left and right, he didn't even consider fighting. Instead he hid under his desk, which was what saved his life.
When said desk, bolted to the floor like all furniture on Babylon Six, was shredded in half, he was sure he was dead. Before him was The Mael-Sprawler, enveloped in a Chaos aura and blood.
Miles regarded the shaking bird with pity, then schooled his expression into something fiercer. "Choice time," he announced. "You can either give me your credentials to the Armada network or you can select a way to die."
Mikel, still shaking, tried to sound brave. "Can I choose 'old age'?" The kit shook his head. The bird's feathers drooped. "Fine…" he picked up a nearby datapad, wrote a username and password and handed it to the fox along with an access card. Then he proceeded cowering again.
The Chaos adept blinked confused. "Why are you still here?" he asked sincerely, scratching his head in confusion.
The bird eyed him curiously. "You won't kill me after all?"
Miles eyed him blankly. "You want me to?" When the other shook his head, the kit slapped a hand on his forehead. "Out! Shoo!" he ordered and the bird turned tail and run.
Muttering about idiots, he found the closest workstation and logged in. The coordinator's access was mid-level, but he still managed to download a map of most of the station and the location of some important rooms and traps.
"Now, where would I head if I were Ice and Ren?" he muttered, scanning the many labeled rooms. "Command bridge or main reactor," he decided. "Both are along the main axle. The reactor was closer to their location, the bridge is closer to mine…" He snapped his fingers in realization. "There is bound to be a fast access shaft between the two. I'll tackle the bridge first, then drop down to the reactor!"
Miles wasn't sure of how or when he had been noticed as a danger. He became sure he had been, though, when literal armies started appearing in his way. Some tried to ambush him, others fought head on, still more tried traps. Despite this being their home field, though, the kit had the advantage. The corridors weren't exactly narrow, but they forced most engagements to be close range, where he excelled.
As he proceeded, though, he noticed a change. The troops coming at him seemed to be more heavily augmented than average. Their implants were more in number and less hidden. Despite that fact, they didn't, or rather couldn't fight as well as the normal troops. When battlebirds missing limbs started attacking him, though, realization final came.
"They are throwing their wounded at me!" he concluded, feeling disgusted. "Those that were injured during this… war and are recovering or even waiting for their prosthetics." Miles gritted his teeth. "That's both irrational and cruel. Who would order this?"
He entered another large room, expecting another ambush.
"My father ordered them," declared a mechanical voice. "Kukku the 15th has no patience for weakness."
Miles gawked at the speaker, his mind trying to understand what he was seeing. "Speedy?"
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For one final time Invictus One and Babylon Six exchanged deathbeams. The red river of death nailed the command center this time, passing mere meters from where Rouge had been standing.
"Status report!" she demanded from the floor, as her eyes tried to regain functionality. Her human operator had been disintegrated, but Domino, slightly injured, reached for her data console.
"We… we did it," she declared, though with little to no triumph in her words.
The bat finally recovered from the flash just in time to see the Red Claw underneath the battle station explode, finally taking too much damage. "Can we go on?" asked the agent with dread.
The zebra consulted her data, frowned, wiped a trickle of blood from her forehead and sighed defeated. "We are done, ma'am. Our main cannon is still in working order, but we only have one hydrojet left intact. It will be slightly faster than swimming home, but we can't follow anymore," she explained with a mirthless smile.
Rouge felt like crying, but then steeled herself. "Send a report to Central. Tell them that our mission is a failure." She eyed Babylon Six, wounded but nowhere near defeated, as it rapidly gained distance. "It's up to you now," she admitted.
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End of chapter 26.
And so we are another chapter closer to the end. I could have made this battle larger and more epic, but I didn't want to get distracted too much. This is a story about Tails, after all, with the Armada-GUN clash being a sideshow. I was happy with how I had him tinker by proxy, though. Domino was a last minute addition, really, a nameless mook that ascended at the last moment. I doubt she'll appear again.
Next chapter, the second battle between Tails and Speedy! Don't forget to review!