Chapter Fifteen: Rising to the Occasion
The three Gems and one Valurian hurried towards the ground level of Horizon Outpost. The Interlopers' attacks continued to rock the base, though the shields prevented any real damage. Other Gems raced around them as well, rushing to get to either safety or their battle stations.
"To the front lines, hurry!" shouted Goshenite. Several of her Milky Quartz warriors she passed by turned to follow her. By the time they reached one of the base's entrances, the group had nearly tripled in size. Goshenite silently hoped it would be enough.
"'S this where the action's gonna be?" asked Topaz.
"That's what Zoisite said," answered Goshenite. "If any Interlopers were going to break through our defenses, this is where they would-"
She was stopped as a spark appeared in the door: the Interlopers were trying to breach.
"Well, speak of the Anti-Gem," she muttered. "Everyone, weapons ready!"
The Quartzes that could do so summoned their weapons, while those that could not readied their blasters. Nines did both, holding her blaster in one hand and her khopesh in the other. Topaz pulled out her flail, preparing to swing it at whatever came through that door. Tenrit, lacking a weapon, retreated to behind some cover. Goshenite summoned her staff, gripping it tightly as she glared towards the breach.
Soon, the Interlopers were through the door. As expected, the large door was blasted apart with explosives, filling the room with vision-obscuring smoke. A barrage of laser blasts flooded out of the breach, with Goshenite's forces returning in kind. Several of the Gems were destabilized by the incoming fire.
"Keep attacking, don't stop!" ordered Goshenite. "We can't let them gain any ground!"
The Interloper forces were starting to make their way inside. Numerous Scavengers were in front to take the shots for Predators and Raptors to enter. The Milky Quartzes wielding melee weapons engaged these intruders to the best of their ability. Topaz threw her flail, destroying a few of them, but there were too many friendlies nearby for her to truly let loose.
As she speared a Predator through the optic, Goshenite caught a glance at the situation outside through the broken door. A Carnivore had forced itself through the shield, creating a small opening for the smaller troops to enter through. Thankfully for them, the effort of holding the shield back prevented the Carnivore from firing on them; they would have been in real trouble if it could. In fact, it was beginning to burn up from the shield's energy, its metal armor turning red and slowly melting off.
"Just a little longer!" shouted Goshenite, throwing her staff to spear a Raptor to the wall. "They can't keep coming forever, just hold out a bit more!"
"Easy for you to say!" said Nines. She hacked through any Scavenger that came her way, firing on some in the distance. She had fallen back slightly, protecting the area where Tenrit was hiding. "How much longer?"
Outside, the Carnivore had begun to slump down in its place, falling to pieces before their eyes. Small explosions rocked its form and molten metal dripped to the ground: it was not long for this world. "Any second now!" Goshenite shouted.
Unfortunately for them, it seemed that the Interlopers had anticipated this very problem. Just as the Carnivore's body gave out from the strain, another took its place. The process started anew, more and more Interlopers rushing through the renewed entryway. Worse still, the half-melted Carnivore was still alive, slowly crawling towards the base.
"Scratch that-get ready for another wave!" said Goshenite. With the losses the Gems were suffering, it was unlikely they would be able to last through another one. The Carnivore lines up its cannons with the open door.
Tenrit looked around nervously as he further retreated into his hiding spot. "What are we supposed to do here, Goshenite!? They're eating us alive!"
"Hate to agree with that, but we're outmatched here, My Goshenite!" said Topaz. Her flail tore through any Interloper that came near her, but other Gems weren't so lucky. Their numbers were beginning to dwindle, while the Interlopers' were steadily increasing.
Goshenite looked around at the carnage surrounding her. Reluctantly, she made a decision. "Everyone, fall back!" They didn't have a choice. It was either retreat and regroup, or be destroyed here and now. As she held off the Interlopers for her troops to fall back, she tried not to think about what this meant for the rest of the base.
But just then, just when defeat seemed inevitable, something happened to shift the tide in the Gems' favor. Although the door had been blown apart, a secondary blast shield suddenly slammed shut in its place; a Predator that had been passing through was bisected. And just like that, the ever-increasing flow of Interlopers slowed to zero.
"...Okay, change of plans!" said Goshenite. "Finish them off!"
Now that they didn't have to worry about reinforcements, the battle became much more one-sided. Rather, it remained one-sided, but now it favored the other side. The Quartzes surrounded the remaining Interlopers, overwhelming them. Goshenite gave chase after a pair of Raptors that tried to escape, throwing her spear after them. It winged one, but before they could get far, Topaz's flail bashed the pair to pieces.
"That was a lucky break, eh?" said Topaz, referring to the door. "What's up with that?"
The entire base began to shake. Unlike before, this was a steady vibration, unlike the blasts from the Apexes. "I think I have a pretty good idea…" said Goshenite.
The rumbling increased, and everyone had to brace to keep their balance. Looking out the window, they would have noticed that the base itself was rising up out of the ground. The earth around them cracked open as Horizon Outpost revealed its true size: a military installation nearly five times its original size, cannons at the ready. Zoisite's voice sounded through the base's intercom: "Attention all personnel, defense mode is now active."
Cautiously, Tenrit stood up from his hiding spot. "So, is that it?" he asked. "Did we win?"
Goshenite looked out at the Apexes and the Broodmother that still surrounded the outpost. "Not by a long shot," she said. "Everyone regroup! We've got more incoming!"
The turrets on the outside of the base handily cleaned up any ground forces that still remained; not that they would have gotten far, as the base's entryways were too high for all but Raptors to reach. These turrets wouldn't have done much against an Apex, but the shield took care of that. "What exactly are we supposed to do?" asked Nines. "This place seems pretty secure if you ask me."
"It always seems that way at first," Goshenite said. "But you never know what could happen next."
Zoisite's voice sounded out through the base once more. "All available combat personnel, please report to the loading deck. Goshenite, I would ask if you come as well."
After scanning the room to make sure that all the Interlopers were dealt with, Goshenite turned to Topaz. "Looks like I'm needed elsewhere," she said. "Topaz, I need you and the troops to hold down the fort. Tenrit, come with me."
"You got it, My Goshenite!" said Topaz.
As Goshenite ran off to meet her summons, Tenrit hurried after her. Nines followed as well. "Hang on, you weren't thinking about leaving without me, were you?"
"What are you doing?" asked Goshenite. "I didn't ask you to come along!"
"You asked Tenrit to come along, and that's practically the same thing!" Nines replied. "I can't just leave him alone, can I? That's a disaster waiting to happen!"
"I hate to agree with that, but she has a point," said Tenrit.
Goshenite reluctantly agreed. "Fine! You're both lucky I trust Topaz to hold the line!"
As the three of them rushed towards the specified meeting place, the pounding against the side of the base grew more violent. It sounded like one of the Apexes had given up trying to shoot the shield down, and was now pounding against it with its fists. If a Carnivore could force its way through a shield, even if only for a moment, Goshenite hated to think what an Apex could do.
After a brief climb up a staircase, they arrived at the loading deck. It soon became obvious why so many had been called here: the bulk of the massive room was filled with a truly enormous cannon, almost the size of a Gem cruiser. A handful of Peridots were loading canisters of a greenish substance into slots in the side while several Quartzes looked on.
"Goshenite, I am glad you are here." Zoisite climbed down from the top of the cannon. "We will need all the assistance we can get now."
"I'll say," Goshenite said. "What's our plan? And why did you need me here?"
"I needed you here because you are the strongest Gem in this facility." She gestured towards the cannon. "This device is a binary fusion generator. It fires superheated plasma capable of destroying superheavy Interloper units in a single shot. It may be our only hope to fend off this attack."
"That makes sense," said Goshenite. "What do you need me to do?"
"In spite of its power, this cannon is in a highly vulnerable position, in no small part due to its strategic importance. In order to fire it, we will need to momentarily drop the base's shields. In that time, I suspect many Interloper units will be able to get through. Most will no doubt flock to this location. That is where you come in: we must defend this cannon at all costs."
"Makes sense," said Nines.
"What's our first target?" asked Goshenite.
"You have no doubt heard that awful banging," Zoisite said. "An Apex is attempting to break through our shields. If left unattended, its efforts will be successful."
"My Zoisite," one of the Peridots said, approaching her, "binary fusion generator is fully loaded and ready to fire."
"Excellent," said Zoisite. "Shift the cannon into position."
The Peridots input a series of commands into nearby terminals. Not only the cannon, but the walls around the room began to rotate, turning towards the source of the banging.
"Open bay doors on my mark," Zoisite commanded, before turning to face Goshenite. "This situation, as they say, is about to escalate. Are you prepared?"
She nodded. "I am." She turned towards her other companions. "Are you."
"I will be," said Tenrit. "Could you, ah…?"
"Oh, sure, here." Nines handed him her blaster."
"Kinda thought you'd prefer this one," he said.
"Nah, take it," she said. She summoned another khopesh, now holding one in each hand.
Goshenite nodded to Zoisite. "Engage!" said the latter.
Slowly, the bay doors slid open. An Apex was gradually revealed on the other side, pounding on the shield with its fists. It stopped as the cannon came into view, regarding it with curiosity. It seemed unaware of what the weapon was capable of.
Zoisite typed several commands into a datascreen in her hands. "Preparing to lower shields," she said. "Fire on my mark."
The cannon began spinning up. Sparks of green energy flew from its barrel, filling the room with a glow of the same color. As this grew in intensity, the Apex seemed to realize what it meant, trying to pull away at the last moment.
"Fire!"
Before the Apex could get out of the way, the cannon shot forth a massive green blast. The projectile tore straight through the Interloper's chest, sending energy coursing through the now-vacant shell as it fell to the ground, shaking the earth on impact. The invaders now knew full well what this weapon was capable of, and were no doubt flocking to its position.
As fast as she could, Zoisite brought the shields back online. "Quickly, close the bay doors!" she shouted.
"Closing bay doors!" The Peridots rapidly hit the buttons at their terminals, and the doors slowly, agonizingly so, slid closed. But not before a good many Interlopers were able to make it through. Several Raptors, many of them carrying other Interlopers, and even a dropship made it into the room.
Zoisite pulled herself back with her hair. "Protect the cannon! They must not destroy it!" she yelled.
"You heard the lady!" shouted Goshenite. "Get in there!"
She, her companions, and the multitude of Quartzes charged at the intruders, who themselves charged at the cannon. As the two sides met, the Gems placed themselves between the Interlopers and the cannon. A few with blasters, like Tenrit, prevented the aerial units from tearing off pieces of the weapon. "Yeah, get some!" Tenrit yelled.
"You know what?" said Nines, a wake of destroyed Interlopers behind her. "I think I can really get into this dual-wielding thing!"
Goshenite let out a flash of light, blinding the Interlopers near her. "I'm glad for you!" she called back. She threw her staff at the blinded dropship, hitting it right in its engine, causing it to spin out of control...right towards the cannon. "...Oops."
Before the ship could crash into the cannon, Zoisite jumped in front of it: using two of her hair tendrils to push it back, and two to push against the cannon. She, with considerable effort, threw it towards a cluster of Interlopers, smashing them against the wall. These were the last of them leaving the room empty.
"Huh." Tenrit looked around the room. "Crisis averted."
At that moment, sparks began flying from the door: the Interlopers were trying to breach, just as they had done below. "Spoke too soon!" said Nines.
Everyone took cover as the doors exploded, hiding from the shrapnel. More Interlopers poured in through the smoke-shrouded entrance. Goshenite in particular caught sight of a glowing red light, hovering right in the center.
"No…" she said. "You're kidding me!"
Gradually, the smoke cleared. "Unfortunately," said Teptromina, his gaze focused on every single one of the Gems, "I am doing no such thing."