CHAPTER 15: ONSLAUGHT (ii)

"Edmund, we've got to get back out there. Thorax and Widowmaker would have respawned by now, and must be heading here to claim that power node!"

Edmund nodded, large droplets of sweat dripping down his face. Even with the coolant in his Juggernaut armor, Edmund still sweated as the excitement of battle came to him.

"Steven, we've got a Raptor circling over our heads. Bring yours over! We need cover!"

"On it lead!"

"Right. Rita, on my mark, we charge out of here and take down Thorax and Widowmaker!"

"Yessir!" Edmund waited a while. The Raptor began circling to the left.

"Mark!"

Edmund and Rita charged out of the cover of the trees. The Raptor immediately turned to them. The twin laser cannon flared dangerously.

"Run!"

Rita needn't be told twice. They ran. The laser cannon spat bolts of death. One bolt struck Edmund's back, but his armor saved his life.

"Quickly, to the power node!"

Thorax and Widowmaker were already there, about to activate the power node. Edmund jumped the last few meters, slamming into Thorax. Thorax whirled and threw Edmund aside. Edmund raised his shock rifle and fired. The shock beam knocked Thorax back. Rita's rotary minigun meanwhile drilled holes into Widowmaker. Widowmaker turned and fired his Flak Cannon.

Pieces of white hot metal tore into Rita. She screamed in pain and dropped. Edmund shifted his aim and fired several shock beams towards Widowmaker. None of them could hit the now swift dodging robot. A shadow descended upon Edmund. He looked up in dread. The Raptor descended rapidly towards him, then darkness.

"Pan Cake! Blue power node under construction!" came the announcer's voice.

Edmund found himself respawned next to Rita back at Blue Base. Steven's voice came on the comm line.

"Air threat neutralized! Ha ha ha. Did you see how that Raptor blow up? Say, where are you lead? I can't see you."

Edmund quickly stocked up on ammo and weapons. "Rita and I are back at the Blue Base."

"Blue Base? I thought you were...ah, I see."

"Lead? Lee here. Northern power node is ours. No sign of the enemy."

"Aaron here! Eastern power node is ours, but I don't know for how long! Sud and I are holding them off barely in this Goliath heavy tank! We're being overrun!"

Edmund quickly considered his options. The Blood Fists were behind in development. A full assault now might just rout them. "Steven, help out Aaron and Sud. Keep the Blood Fists in place."

"Roger chief."

"Lee, I want you to go claim the next power node. That will open up the shield of the Red Power Core!"

"Right!"

"Come on Rita, to the Red Base!"

Edmund climbed into the small Manta hover bike. He turned to Rita. And blushed at what he was about to suggest. He hoped Rita wouldn't kill him.

"Get in the back."

Rita's eyebrow's shot upwards. She crossed her arms. "That's a one man vehicle. We can't possibly fit."

"There's no other vehicle for you. We'll have to squeeze."
Rita laughed. "All right. But I'm driving."

The hover bike powered and sped across the battlefield. Edmund tried his best to concentrate on the match on not think of the beautiful, exotic, gorgeous, charming...No! Concentrate Edmund! The fate of humanity is in your hands!

The hover bike shook from a nearby explosion. Another enemy Raptor was back up in the air, and its missiles slammed into the ground all around Edmund. Edmund cursed. His comm. Link crackled and a robotic voice spoke to him.

"Edmund, Rapier here. Come out come out to play, Edmund!"

"Hold on to my waist Edmund! But get carried away and I'll kill you when we're done with this match, mankind's sole savior or not!"

Edmund grasped at Rita's waist. The hover bike accelerated with the Raptor close behind, lasers and missiles bathing the ground behind them.

"Lee here, power node secure!"

Edmund had barely acknowledge it when the Raptor suddenly broke off his attack. It flew away, angled to the north. Edmund urged Rita on.

"Faster! Rapier is after Lee! We got to destroy the Power Core before Rapier gets to him!"

"Right!"

Lee was waiting beside the power node for more instructions when the Raptor arrived. Quickly, he drew a Lighting Gun from the nearby weapons rack. He dodged left just as the laser bolts scorched the earth where he stood. Lee took aim and fired. The lighting gun bucked as it unleashed a coil of lighting at the Raptor.

The bolt struck the Raptor at the side. Fire belched from the wound as the Raptor spinned uncontrollably. Lee took aim again. The Raptor steadied itself and let loose a missile just as Lee fired.

The Raptor lurched from this new hurt, belched more smoke and fire, and then crashed to the ground in a blossoming explosion. The missile barely missed Lee, striking the ground beside him. The shock wave threw him aside and into a tree trunk. Lee collapsed to the ground, and spat blood.

He looked up.

Unbelievably, Rapier had survived the crash. In his hand he held a weapon that sent a shiver of fear down his spine. A Redeemer mini atomic missile. Upon impact, the touch sensitive missile would obliterate the power node and probably Lee as well, considering how close he was to it. Edmund's voice came online.

"Lee, we're there, opening fire on the Power Core! You've got to buy us another minute!"

Lee disregarded his injuries and rushed towards Rapier. The robot looked at him as if amused. In its electronic mind, it quickly calculated the chances of success of Lee having to destroy him before he fired the missile. The chances came out nil. It waited arrogantly for Lee to come closer, then turned and fired the missile at the power node.

"Damn it, this is going to hurt!"

Lee threw himself into the path of the missile. The resulting explosion obliterated Lee together with Rapier. The power node was saved.