Loss -
Chapter 7: Lopez -
It had been a hell of a ride. He was incapable of touch, but it felt like he could feel the wind. He was incapable of feelings, but he had had a relationship with Sheila for a short time. He was incapable of english speech, but he still think he got his message across to the other members of Red Team. And now it might end now, with a gigantic alien army in Blood Gulch.
He had been sitting on the edge of the top floor of Red Base. He had been watching as the alien army gathered in the middle of the canyon. He had been paying particular attention to Blue Base. He could see that solider, Caboose, fixing up Sheila. Was a human really capable of loving a machine? If it was true, Caboose was a shining example.
Lopez was wielding a battle rifle, but had ammo strung across his chest plate. Sarge approached Lopez.
"Lopez. Did you complete the armour and speed upgrades to the jeep?" He asked. Somehow, Sarge seemed more somber.
"Si. The jeep's speed has been doubled. Armour is doubled. Also, the gunner posistion can be automatically used from the driver seat in five second bursts every fifteen seconds." Sarge nodded approvingly.
"Excellent work Lopez." Sarge placed his hand on Lopez's metal shoulder. "Don't die out there."
"Si."
Lopez had been in fights before, but nothing like this. He had never fought against so many opponents. More then once, he almost ran over a Red or a Blue. It would take some time to get used to this insane amount of speed. He saw a Wraith in the distance, preparing to fire at Sheila. He activated the turret, and it blasted it out of existense within a few seconds. He had upgraded that as well.
One alien was out of range of the gun, and as he drove past, blew it's head off with his battle rifle. He leant out of the Warthog, and punched another one at high speed, cracking it's skull. It crumped in a heap behind him. He heard a gruff scream and drove towards it's souce. He drove past the dead bodies of Sarge and Simmons, surrounded by Aliens. Muttering a an apolegy to Sarge and Simmons, Lopez drove the Warthog through the crowd of Aliens. About 80 percent of the Aliens were killed, the rest managed to leap out of the way.
"NO!" Lopez's mechanical scream echoed through the canyon. He watched as Caboose was ejected from Sheila, and then Sheila was hit by a Wraith blast. In her explosion he thought he heard an echoing signal.
"Bye...Lopez."
Lopez charged towards Sheila's wreackage, Aliens were now attempting to scavange her wreackage. Lopez was not going to allow that to happen. He drove full speed towards the clump of fifty aliens. He pressed a button on the vehicle, and a message appeared on the screen next to the steering whell:
-WARNING ACTIVATION OF WARTHOG DESTRUCTION SEQUENCE WILL INCINARATE ALL MATTER WITHIN TEN METRES OF VEHICLE ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO ACTIVATE THE FAIL SAFE?
YES/NO
Lopez punched the YES button, and leaped out of the vehicle. There was silence for a moment, and the aliens turned to see the souce of the noise. They roared as they saw the vehicle fly towards them. Then it detonated.
Burning mechanical parts flew in all directions as the Warthog exploded. The aliens were killed instantly. However, the explosion was much stronger then Lopez first believed, and the fire burned his metal body. He was thrown backwards into the canyon wall.
Lopez was malfunctioning. His right arm would not move, and it was hard to walk. He fired his gun at the approaching aliens , managing to fell a couple of them. But there were too many of them. Sparks flew from his legs, and he collapsed on to the ground. He had sustained far too much damage. He lay on the ground, staring up at the aliens, their eyes glinting with their pide of technology.
"You're not getting this robot."
With his still working arm, he lifted up a panel on his chest. He pressed the button. A voice filled his helmet.
"To activate self-destuct sequence, please speak the following word: SARGE" Lopez wondered if Sarge had programmed that specifically, or if the word was chosen because Lopez cared little about Sarge. Lopez wondered these things, and then spoke.
"...Sarge."
Lopez detonated in an amazing explosion, taking down at least fifty aliens in the process. As he detonated, he spoke a few words.
"Where do I go now...?"