So, quick note. There may be a bit of a delay between chapters for a little while. I'm visiting my sister for the summer, and I'm not sure if that'll mean more or less time for me to write. I'll try to get stuff out on time, but there still might be some delays and the chapters might be shorter. Or, you know, it could go the opposite way and I'll be able to write extra. You never know. I just wanted to warn you all in case things slow down.
Anyway, please enjoy the new chapter and have a fantastic day!
"He's here." Simmons hears Rho's announcement through the speakers in his helmet. He activates his HUD's binocular function and turns his eyes toward the battle. Most of it's blocked by a large rock formation in the middle of the canyon, but he still tries his best to monitor what's happening.
After a few minutes, he catches a glimpse of Silver and Gold through a gap in the rocks. He focuses on them just in time to see Silver get knocked to the ground. "Silver's down!" he gasps.
"Part of the plan," Yttri says, once again tugging at the armor on her shoulder. There's a slight strain to her voice that Simmons suspects has nothing to do with the plight of her sister and quite a bit to do with the gun on her hip. Yttri hasn't been acting the same since Silver handed her that pistol. Simmons doesn't like it. He wants the old, grumpily easygoing Yttri back. He doesn't want her to be scared.
"She's trying to make Gold think he's winning," Yttri continues, oblivious to Simmons thoughts. "That way, hopefully, he'll drop his guard somewhat before Tinu attacks."
Simmons turns his attention back to the battle and watches as Gold viciously kicks at Silver's side. "Are you sure she'll be okay? That guy seems pretty tough."
"Silver's tougher," Yttri says just a bit too adamantly. "She'll be fine." Simmons can't help the feeling that she's trying to convince herself just as much as him.
Simmons continues to watch the broken up pieces of the battle, and a few moments later sees Tinu come out of hiding to attack Gold. Sarge and Wash join the fight soon after. Simmons tries to guess which of his CO's catchphrases the red armored soldier shouts as he steps toward Gold. He watches in shock as the older man gets knocked down.
"Sarge!" Simmons yells.
Yttri nudges him with her elbow. "Quiet!" she chastises. "We don't want Gold to know we're out here."
"B-but Sarge. He-"
"It's part of the plan," Yttri says again. "Weren't you paying attention back in the pelican?"
"No," Simmons admits a little sheepishly. "I was studying the gun, to be sure I knew how to use it."
Yttri rolls her eyes and shuffles a bit closer to him. She zooms in her HUD and focuses on the battle. "See, Gold just picked up Sarge's stunner. That gun's rigged," she explains. "When Gold fires, it'll overload and knock him out."
Simmons opens his mouth to respond, then stops abruptly. Something looks weird out in the canyon, between the old red base where he and Yttri are hidden and the rock he's been trying to see through. Simmons un-zooms his visor and scans the open terrain.
"Do you see that?" he asks.
"Gold getting knocked out just like I said he would?" Yttri asks, a bit of her old sarcasm back in her voice. "Yeah, I saw it."
"No, not that," Simmons says impatiently. "Out there, in the canyon. There's something… blurry."
"Blurry?" Yttri asks skeptically.
"Yeah," Simmons says thoughtfully. "It's almost like a shimmer." It looks oddly familiar to the maroon soldier, but he can't place it.
"Shimmer?" This time, Yttri sounds concerned.
It takes Simmons a half second too long to realize why Yttri's concerned, and that's when he remembers where he last saw something like this. That had been back in Blood Gulch, when Tex had first attacked red base. She'd been using an active camo unit, which made her look like nothing more than a trick of the eye; a mirage best left forgotten.
Simmons realizes with a sinking feeling that this canyon is full of those mirages. He opens his mouth to warn Yttri when the grenade lands between them.
"Yttri!" I shout. I hear weapons begin to fire from the other end of the canyon, but I can't see the source. I start running in their direction. "Simmons! Yttri! Can you hear me?"
There's a yelp behind me and I turn to see Tinu on the ground and Gold running away. Wash aims his stunner at the retreating man, but Gold fades from view before he has a chance to fire. I want to chase after him, but I can't. I can still hear the soft pop of plasma fire from behind the rocks. I need to find out what's going on with Yttri and Simmons.
Sarge helps Tinu to her feet while she mumbles something about getting kicked in the face. I begin to worry as I see a small crack in the side of her visor, but Rho assures me that Tinu's vitals are normal. Still, I know she's shaken. She shouldn't charge into another fight right away. I tell Sarge to take her to the pelican before turning back toward the sound of plasma blasts.
Wash is shouting into his radio, trying to get some sort of response from our stranded teammates. "Simmons! Yttrium!" he nearly screams. "Somebody answer!"
"Wash?" Simmons staticy voice jumps through my helmet's speakers. "Silver? ** yo** uys out there?"
"We're here," Wash says, relieved. "What's going on?"
"**'re under attack," is Simmons reply. "We can't-"
"Are you okay?" Wash asks, cutting him off. "Are either of you hurt?"
There's a long moment of static before we hear Simmons voice again, though it seems stronger now. "We're fine," he says. "We're not hurt, but we're pinned down, trapped inside red base. We need help." I hear a mix of bullets and plasma fire over the radio.
"Where's Yttri?" I ask. I start sprinting in their direction again, not bothering to check if Wash will follow. It doesn't matter. Yttri would have spoken by now if she was able. I can't help but think the worst.
"She's here with me," Simmons answers. "She's fine, but I think her radio got knocked out in the explosion."
I breathe a sigh of relief at that. My sister's still in danger, but at least she's alive. "Who's attacking you?" I ask.
I reach the rocks in the center of the canyon and run around them. Their attackers come into view at the same time Simmons' answer reaches my ears. "Robots," he says. "It's- they're some sort of robot."
He's right. I'd recognize them anywhere. They're training bots, just like the kind mom's always had us practice against, except these are armed with plasma pistols and seem to be augmented with armor. I barely have a moment to estimate their numbers and see where Simmons and Yttri are trapped before some of the robots turn my way, bolts of green plasma chasing me back behind the rocks.
"Silver, there are too many," Simmons says. "I- I don't think I can hold them off for long."
"Listen to me," I say sternly, trying to distract him from his panic. "We'll find a way to get to you, ok? We will get you out of there, but in the mean time I need you to do your job. You keep Yttri safe and you keep her calm."
"Calm?"
I start sprinting back to the pelican and realize for the first time that Wash has followed me. "Yttri… doesn't do well in firefights," I say, remembering the last time Tinu tried to drag her into training. "You need to let her know that she's going to be okay and that she's not alone. Do you understand?"
"Okay," Simmons says after a moment. Static begins to take over again as speaks. "*'ll try."
"Just keep her safe," I say again, struggling to keep my voice steady.
"I will," Simmons says. "I pr**ise."
There's another burst of static before the radio cuts out.
Tinu steps forward when we reach the pelican, Doc hovering nervously by her side and muttering about how she should sit down. "What's the situation?" she asks.
"Training bots," I say. "At least a hundred, and they're all armed. They must have been cloaked in the canyon, waiting for a signal from Gold."
"He knew we were coming," Wash adds.
I nod. The thought hadn't really occurred to me yet, but I know it's true the moment he says it. I don't know how, but somehow Gold knew what we had planned. I curse silently. How is he always one step ahead of us?
"So what's the plan?" Sarge asks.
"I don't know," I whisper, though I doubt any of them hear it. I shake my head and start again. "They're cut off. Too many bots between us and them. I don't know how to reach them." I take a breath, tying to calm my panic. I can't shut down now. I can't let this happen again. I need to focus. I need to think of a way to help them.
Sarge walks over so he stands less than a foot in front of me, forcing me to look up to meet his gaze. "That's one of my men out there with your sister," he says, as though I don't already know. "Now, we're gonna get them back. You just tell me what to do, and I'll do it."
I nod once, and he steps back. I try to think, try to imagine what we have that could possibly get through an army like that. Suddenly, it hits me.
"Lopez," I say, activating my radio again. "Get down here."
"What are you planning?" Wash asks, echoing Rho's thoughts in my head.
I ignore him in favor of turning toward the man in red. "Sarge, get your shotgun."
There's a burst of static before Simmons' radio cuts out. He shouts a few more times as he fires random, barely aimed plasma blasts toward the advancing wall of robots. "Silver! Wash! Sarge! Can anybody hear me?" It's no use, though. They can't hear him anymore.
"Radio's jammed," Yttri mutters from her place beside him.
Simmons looks at the robots for a moment. Half of them have started walking toward the other end of the canyon, presumably to find Silver and the others. The other half continue to march toward their meager shelter at red base, though they're moving very slowly. Simmons estimates it will take the robots at least ten minutes just to reach the base. That gives them a little time. Still, he knows he doesn't have enough ammo to take out even half of them. They need to find a way out of here.
He turns his attention to the woman next to him. "Are you okay?" Simmons asks her, remembering what Silver had said about her being scared. He wouldn't have believed it before. Yttri's always so confident. He'd expect her to get angry or annoyed, not scared. But now, looking at her, seeing the way her hands shake as she aims the pistol, he knows it's true. "Yttri, look at me."
Yttri glances at him. She whispers something that he can't really hear, but it doesn't sound positive.
Simmons reaches out hesitantly before putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm right here," he says, repeating what Silver had told him as he tries to keep his voice steady. "Don't worry. We'll get out of this."
Yttri stares at him for a moment before nodding, and her hands stop shaking.
"I don't know if you heard, but Silver said they can't get to us right away," Simmons starts to explain. "They're going to try, but I don't think we can wait that long. We need to get ourselves out of here."
Yttri peeks through the entrance to the base, causing Simmons hand to fall off her shoulder. "Training bots," she says thoughtfully. "Not very fast, and they have trouble turning." She ducks back behind the wall and looks at Simmons. "We might be able to get around them, if we can move fast."
"Would running be fast enough?" Simmons asks hopefully. Yttri shakes her head. "Do you have any ideas, then?"
Yttri shakes her head again. "Sorry, cyborge. I'm afraid I'm not really much help in this sort of situation, not without some sort of machine to work with. Firefights aren't exactly my specialty."
Simmons fires the stunner over the wall for a few seconds. He knows they won't last a minute out there on foot, and they can't fight all of the robots. He doesn't know what to do, but something Yttri said is itching in the back of his mind. She'd mentioned needing a machine. He knows they can't make it on foot, but maybe…
He has an idea. It's not a guarantee, but it's a chance. Someone could have moved things at the base while he was gone, but if it's still there then he has a way out. After all, this was red base. Sarge always made sure Red Team could claim vehicular superiority in the canyon (except when it came to tanks). He's sure there's something they can use. Unfortunately, he'll need to leave Yttri alone for a few minutes to check.
He glances at the gun in the mechanic's hand. "Silver said you're good with that," Simmons says, nodding toward the gun.
Yttri peeks back through the doorway and fires three shots in quick succession. Three training bots fall simultaneously, only to have their places in line filled by the many others.
"Okay," Simmons says, eyes wide as he draws out the word. "I have a plan. I need you to hold them off for a few minutes while I go get something. Can you do that?" He hands her the stunner as he speaks.
"I'll do what I can," Yttri says uncertainly.
Simmons heads a little further into the base before turning back to her. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"
"You'll come back," she says, as though that's answer enough. "I trust you. Just, hurry."
Simmons nods before sprinting away.