Senshi Sabers

Chapter 31

The combat model bio-boomer was illegal, at least in the country of Japan. Hell, it shouldn't have been in the country at all, they were absolutely banned. None the less it was here, and the AD Police were scrambling to try to contain it. The thing was humanoid, if scaled up to about ten foot tall, and covered with ceramic armor. One arm was a heavy machine gun, while the other ended in a claw grip intended for tearing. On one shoulder was a box launcher for missiles, while the other had a form of radar tracking implanted.

"Shit!" Usagi cursed as the blond ducked behind the burning wreck of a police cruiser.

"Well, this is fun," Naru complained as she crouched down beside Usagi, her police issue gun at the ready.

"It's headed straight for the AD Police headquarters," Usagi noted grimly, the thing firing wildly and shooting down a patrol helicopter. The 'copter exploded in a burst of fire and light, no doubt killing the poor pilot instantly.

"Think it's intentional?" Naru asked, watching the thing move. The ceramic armor plates moved with it, leaving few if any gaps to shoot into.

Usagi shrugged eloquently, "Who knows? If what we're fighting actually understands tactics, it would have to go for us eventually."

Another group of officers with slightly better cover opened fire with a heavy machine gun, the bullets pinging off it's armor and flying randomly. "Shit!" Naru yelped, ducking as a bullet spangged off a nearby bit of the cruiser.

The bio-boomer was entirely unfazed by the fire, turning it's own guns on the wall the cops were sheltering behind. It fired off a storm of bullets, high speed slugs tearing and ripping into the stone cover, erroding it steadily.

"Damn it, where are the heavy weapons team?" Usagi muttered.

Naru pointed off to one side, "I think that's it there, on fire."

Usagi swore again, the slim blond frowning thoughtfully. "Cover me," she ordered just before she bolted from behind the ruined cruiser.

"You maniac!" Naru yelped before obediently opening fire on the mecha, hopefully drawing it's attention towards her.

Usagi raced towards the van sitting on it's side, blackened by a nearby fire but mostly intact. The big bio-boomer was spraying Naru's position with weapon's fire, and it didn't look like the gutted wreck would hold out much longer. She quickly yanked the doors to the van opening, glad to see most of the weapons and ammo still in place. She quickly grabbed what she needed and started to set up.

Naru felt blood trickle into her eye from a cut on her brow, and tried to wipe it away. The armored glass of the had shattered, raining shards down on her. Thankfully the body was dense enough to soak up the bullets, but there was no way to know how long it would last. The fire cut off and she carefully peeked up over the mangled metal, watching the bio-boomer start lumbering forward once again.

'It doesn't even think we're worth finishing off,' Naru thought resentfully.

"Hey ugly!" a voice called.

Both Naru's and the bio-boomer's heads turned, seeing Usagi standing there confidently with a rocket powered grenade launcher braced against her shoulder. With no other warning she fired, the small but powerful rocket streaming smoke as it raced across the battlefield to plunge into the bio-boomer's chest.

The bio-boomer stood there a moment, almost looking perplexed. Then with a roar the explosive charge detonated, blowing the thing apart and showering the surrounding area with armor segments and innards.

"Ewww," one older man sighed as he emerged from cover, the organge 'blood' dripping off much of the battlefield.

Usagi set the weapon down then hurried over to where Naru was getting up from their wrecked cruiser. "You okay?" she asked, seeing the blood on her face.

"Just a scratch," Naru waved her off. She looked at the gore left behind by the explosives as she asked, "You couldn't have used something a bit less destructive?"

Usagi shrugged, "Had to be sure it'd go through the armor. The RPG I knew would do it."

"Point," Naru conceded, "but I bet the chief won't be happy."

"Is the chief ever happy?" Usagi asked dryly. She frowned, realizing that she heard no sirens coming towards them. "What's keeping emergency services?" she wondered.

Usagi and Naru exchanged a look, both women suddenly worried. "I'll get on the radio to headquarters," Naru said, dreading the sort of news they were going to get.

What they discovered was that FOUR military models had been sent out. And while all four were stopped, two were with serious losses and the assistance of the Senshi. There were a lot of casualties, destroyed equipment and a very, very frightened city out there.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Hotaru Tomoe was actually relieved to find out the latest disaster to hit the city wasn't her company's fault. Well, at least not entirely her company's fault. It was rather mind boggling to find out there was a bio-boomer smuggling organization out there, but apparently they were the idiots bringing in the military models back to Japan.

She was on scene over in the west end, helping the AD Police haul away the blasted carcass of one of the military models. The inner fluids were somewhat toxic, which was why her teams were here assisting with recovery. And Hotaru herself wanted to be there to offer whatever help she could, and, less nobly, to appear on camera for the news media.

Recovery crews in full body protectve gear vacuumed up the waste, even as medics swarmed over the injured cops. The overpass the battle had happened under was cracked and probably would have to be rebuilt, while the pavement they were on was melted and burned.

"This is one of the ones stopped by the Senshi, correct?" Hotaru asked as she studied the damage.

Kaori Knight nodded, the attractive young woman hanging close to her boss. "Yes, ma'am," she agreed, "the fire and ice models, along with a third suit using some form of concussive burst."

"The third suit is new?" Hotaru asked thoughtfully.

"Appears to be, yes," Kaori checked her notes, "no visuals yet, but I'm confident we can get a download from the news or security cameras."

"Thank you," Hotaru said, then asked the question she had been dreading. "How bad were the police's losses?"

Kaori sighed, but knew there was no way to soften the blow. "The first responders were a total loss on all four sites," she reported, "they had no idea it was a combat model they were facing. The follow up teams fared somewhat better."

"Cold comfort," Hotaru sighed. Once again her father's creations were killing people, and once again she was powerless to stop it. When would this crap end?

Then one of the battered looking cops from the AD Police's SWAT team made his way over to where they were standing. "You're Tomoe?" he asked her gruffly, "Because otherwise, this area is authorized personnel only."

"I am," Hotaru acknowledged. Quietly she said, "I'm so sorry this happened..."

He snorted with amusement. "What are you apologizing for?" he asked gruffly, "You may have built it, but it ain't like you shipped it here or sent it after us." He shrugged, "It'd be like blaming a gun maker for some nut going on a shooting spree."

"I see," Hotaru nodded thoughtfully.

As a police cruiser arrived he sighed as he recognized the driver. "Damn it, boss is here," he noted as he ambled off, "good luck."

"That was unexpected," Kaori noted as they saw Haruna look around, scowling.

"A pleasant surprise," Hotaru agreed, "though I don't think the other police hanging about agree." They were getting a few glares both from injured officers and aide workers, though thankfully not from all of them.

Chief Haruna circled the scene, talking with officers and offering support. She finally made her way to where Hotaru was directing the removal of the bio-boomer's leg, which had survived mostly intact. She looked grim, dressed in her field uniform, something in her manner implying this was a 'official' visit of some kind.

"Tomoe," she nodded, the older woman observing. Haruna looked curious as she noted, "That's evidence, you know. Where are you taking it?"

"We haven't taken any parts anywhere, yet," Hotaru answered calmly. "However forensic collection isn't possible in this situation, considering the toxicity of the pieces."

Haruna nodded, clearly having known that but wanting to get it said. "Is the brain recoverable?" she asked by rote.

"Doubtful," Kaori said, not much liking Haruna's tone, "as it was blown to bits. Unless you forensic techs are very good a jigsaw puzzles?"

"Kaori," Hotaru scolded, but Haruna just chuckled.

"We're very good at puzzles, Miss Knight," Haruna said. She fixed Hotaru with a look, "And my officers are working on a big one with this Nine entity." She looked around the battle field pointedly, "They think they're not getting the full story from you."

"We have cooperated fully with police...," Kaori started feistily.

Hotaru held up a hand, hushing her friend. "How so?" she asked politely.

Haruna shrugged. "I'm a old cop, Tomoe," she said calmly, "I've read the interview transcripts and I know bullshit when I step in it. You're holding back information, you and Infinity."

Hotaru was surprised at how calmly Haruna said it, almost sounding tired. "Do you think I'm a suspect, then?" she asked.

Haruna shrugged again, looking at the wrecked bits of bio-boomer. "Not as such," she conceded, "but you may end up a accessory if you keep this up." She looked over at Hotaru consideringly, "My people need to know what they're facing, or things like this will keep happening."

"This isn't her fault," Kaori said flatly. "Now unless you wish to press charges, this conversation is over." She looked at Hotaru, "Let's go, ma'am."

"This isn't over," Haruna cautioned as Kaori nearly dragged Hotaru away.

Hotaru frowned as Kaori hauled her over to the car, "You didn't need to do that, Kaori."

Kaori shook her head as the other woman said, "She's just playing on your guilt, miss. You are doing everything you can to stop Nine."

Hotaru sighed as they reached the limo, "I wish I could completely believe that." They both got in, then she nodded to the driver, "Infinity, please. Best speed."

To be continued...