Chapter 4: Stare Death in the Face / Mustn't Run Away
Blackened sabatons sank into the river with each step. Rough-edged black blades dragged through the mountains on either side. The charred knight marched through one of the valleys leading to its next conquest, its destroyed head had regenerated differently, becoming a skull-like visage with glowing red eyes and a permanent bloodthirsty grin of exposed teeth.
A 105mm shell exploded against its AT Field, followed by a hail of smaller rounds. The AC-130U circled above the Warrior, raining flares and generally trying to be as noticeable as possible.
The Anchorage facility's CIC resembled a classic war room, as opposed to the awe-inspiring command tower of the Vegas Complex.
"It barely notices. Not surprising considering the largest thing on the Spooky is half the caliber of the weakest Shadow firearm ever put into production," Metzger commented as he watched the wall-mounted screen.
Lawson sat next to him at the big table, typing on her laptop. "It'll have to do. The sync process is about to start, and then there's still a two hour flight to Vancouver."
"How are they doing?" Metzger asked.
"They're looking comfortable so far. Time to immerse them." The lieutenant pressed a key, confirming the LCL pumping process.
Regina noticed the orange fluid pooling at the bottom of her plug. "Hello? I think something in my Unit is, like, leaking?"
"You mean the Tang? Mine's got it too," Nadya responded over the comm.
"Uhh... It keeps rising." Regina started to shift upwards in her seat.
Nadya dipped her finger in it and gave it a lick. "Bleh. Tastes like blood."
"Cant... get... much... higher..." Regina struggled to keep her head about the liquid.
Lawson's voice came in over the comm. "It's breathable liquid. You're supposed to take it into your lungs."
Nadya emptied her lungs and took in a breath of LCL. "Weird, but schway," she commented, testing out her ability to talk while submerged.
Regina held her breath as the plug was filled completely, but eventually had to take in the liquid, coughing as the last air bubbles were freed from her lungs.
"First contact successful. Beginning Second contact," a technician announced.
The LCL in the plugs became clear as an electric current ran through it. The displays that lined the walls began to produce various patterns as diagnostics were underway. The color cycles melted away to display the Shadows' points of view.
Lawson checked her screen. "Contacts look good. Operating language is English by default. Unit three-oh-seven's sync is forty-five percent with a five percent fluctuation. Four-oh-four's is forty-two percent, holding steady. Alright, three-oh-seven is stabilizing towards fifty."
The pilots began to feel very tall and somewhat disoriented as the Shadows' sensations were layered over their own.
Lawson continued to go through standard checks. "Plugsuits are transmitting vitals as stable. Harmonics: nominal, LCL composition: nominal, neural feedback buffers: nominal."
"Can we give them a chance to test out their weapons?" Metzger asked.
"That's a negative, Captain. Because it was last minute, each gun only shipped with one full mag. I've called in supply drops from HQ, so at least they'll have reloads during the fight," Lawson explained.
Metzger gave the hint of a smirk. "So they'll use a living Archetype for target practice. Sounds like we've gone back to when this all started five years ago."
A readout changed on Lawson's screen, making her raise an eyebrow. "What? Unit four-oh-four's IFF just went off, and came back on as... what is that?"
"Rusalka. It's a Russian fairytale creature, similar to a siren or mermaid." Metzger pushed the button to talk to the pilots. "Kasparova, why did you rename your Unit?"
"I was messing with the settings. Figured I'd enter my old handle as the callsign," Nadya responded as she tapped the buttons on the full-hand trigger guards. "I'll get the Unit number in front of it again. Heh, four-oh-four: Rusalka not found."
"We're going to load you up for transport to Vancouver now. Since neither of you are drop-trained, we'll try to set you down smoothly. The flight should take two hours, during which time you will be able to review documentation pertaining to the operation of your Units and their weapons," Metzger announced.
Nadya looked over the weapon manuals immediately, pulling up the statistics and accompanying holographic images. Unit 4-04 was issued with the EM-7 gauss rifle - a sleek bullpup design with a 12-round single-stack magazine. The low capacity was due to the need to integrate the weapon's power supply, allowing reloads to replenish both the ammunition and the electric charge required to propel it. Its destructive power was impressive, as it fired 440mm Fe-DU rounds at 5000m/s.
That's roughly the equivalent of a ten-millimeter round, if we're scaling to human sizes. Nadya calculated in her head.
Additionally, since it was hardwired to the Type 4 stability augmentation frame, the feed from the rifle's scope could be displayed directly in the pilot's view.
That's a useful feature. I wonder what other kinds of sights are available.
She also checked out the standard-issue ultrathermic combat knife. It worked by using a Territory-conductive C-alloy to tap existing AT Fields for both heating energy and structural reinforcement, allowing it to heat up to temperatures that would melt tungsten while retaining the strength and cutting edge of carbon steel. In addition, this process would drain the AT Field of a struck target, making it easier to penetrate. The only downside of the ultrathermic weapon design was that the self-reinforcing property would stop scaling with the heating after a certain point, causing the weapon to overheat and potentially melt itself if used beyond safe operating limits.
Doesn't seem like my Unit's made for melee, but I'll keep it around just in case.
Regina waited until she was in the air to look through her weapons. She glossed over the knife and went to the EM-5 ultrathermic flechette rifle. Like the ultrathermic combat knife, it used Territory-conductive materials to achieve enhanced AT penetration. However, this was a boxy rail rifle that fired 550mm saboted darts at 1500m/s. Due to the size of its ammunition and associated power pack, it could only hold four rounds in the magazine. Additionally, the effective range was limited to two kilometers due to the flechettes' tendency to partially melt in flight and spin out of control.
Great. Give the inaccurate gun with four shots to the girl with no training. Don't they have something with, like, a hundred shots? Why couldn't I have that instead? Regina sighed and got out of her seat, finding it uncomfortable to stay bent over when the Shadow was in flight position.
Unlike most coastal cities, Vancouver and its surrounding urban areas were able to be partially reclaimed instead of needing to be rebuilt further inland. Combined with the Canadians' tendency to rebuild piece by piece as the need arose, this meant that there were several islands still covered in defunct buildings from the pre-Impact days. The inhabited islands, on the other hand, were built-up with interconnected buildings and underwater tunnels to allow for transit between the islands without inhibiting maritime traffic.
The two flying wing transports banked over the city, heading toward the Maple Ridge vertical farm complex.
"Five minutes to drop, pilots. The green towers are the first major asset in the Archetype's path, so we'll set you down in front of them. Transport planes with ammunition will drop it on your request. I'm also working on getting a cable set up for Kasparova's Unit," Metzger informed.
"Shit! I'm not ready!" Regina shouted as she scrambled up from the bottom of her plug to get into the seat.
"Don't worry, Reg. Your body is ready," Nadya joked.
"It's literally not!" Regina responded, jumping into her seat. "I need a seatbelt!"
"The back of the seat features magnetic attachment points for the plugsuit. Activate them from the menu," Metzger instructed.
"The older models used the central display as a restraint if pulled up, but most pilots found it uncomfortable. Even now, experienced pilots tend to avoid using the mag locks, or only use the ones on the legs so their body isn't stuck in the seat," Lawson added.
The transports flew lower and slower than usual, releasing the Shadows from their aerodynamic containers over an old field that was left over from the days of flat agriculture. Both Units came down hard, tumbling along the ground as they landed.
"Oww. Anything broken?" Regina groaned as Unit 3-07 stood up and retrieved its rifle from the separately dropped weapon container.
"Not on my end. Hell of a trip down, though." Nadya checked Unit 4-04's calibration. The Type 4 stability augmentation frame held her EM-7 by its stock and forearm, allowing 4-04 to hold it steady using only its right hand. In its left, it held the combat knife, fitting with Nadya's gaming preference for having a dedicated melee option available at all times. She proceeded to the vertical farms, finding a pair of umbilical cables and plugging one in. "External power is go. Switching to combat mode."
"How do I turn the safety off on this thing?" Regina asked, fiddling with the flechette rifle while keeping her finger on the trigger.
"Don't shoot yourself in the foot, for starters," Nadya responded. "Point it away from civilization, keep your trigger finger outside the guard, and now you can flip the ambidextrous lever on the side from the white icon to the red."
The rain had eased to an occasional drizzle, giving the Nerv forces above-average visibility for a coastal North American deployment. The Warrior emerged from behind a mountain ten kilometers north of the hydroponic towers, with only rolling hills and open fields separating it from the Shadows.
Seeing a pair of worthy opponents, the knight launched into a sprint, its eyes glowing with a hunger for combat. The bladed arms swung limply behind its body as it bounced with each step.
Unit 4-04 brought up its rifle, took aim and fired a shot. There was a thunderclap as the hypersonic slug went downrange and shattered against the AT Field.
"Negative damage," Lawson reported.
"Let's try some strats." Nadya took aim again and fired another shot at the exact same spot, achieving exactly the same result as the Archetype continued to charge.
"It's getting closer..." Regina whimpered.
Nadya breathed out slowly and squeezed the trigger, firing a third slug. The Warrior had expected another shot at its shoulder, and was slow to re-angle the AT Field to block a headshot. The iron-uranium projectile scored its left temple, leaving a scar-like indentation in the metallic skull.
The knight was barely even staggered as it continued to advance, deflecting three more rounds from the gauss rifle before charging at Unit 3-07.
Regina yelped as she fired the ultrathermic railgun. The red-hot flechette flew toward the Warrior, but lost most of its energy piercing the AT Field, leaving barely enough to glance off the blackened armor. Nadya continued to pepper the orange barrier with hypersonic slugs, but to no avail.
As the Archetype reached Regina's Unit, it roared, opening its skeletal maw to reveal an abyssal darkness. It proceeded to drag the tip of one of its blades through the ground, kicking up stones and mud before hitting 3-07's leg. Shards of silver armor were flung across the field, along with a spray of blood.
The girl inside the war machine screamed as she felt a pain like nothing she had ever known.
"Left femur damaged! Sync ratio rising to fifty-five!" Lawson exclaimed.
The Warrior looked into its foe's eyes. The skull's permanently exposed grin burned itself into the pilot's mind as it tore its weapon from the wound, freeing a chunk of bone.
"Left leg functionality is compromised! Sync is up to sixty!"
Metzger leaned in as he watched the fight on the screen. "Impressive, Stanford. Just don't lose your cool."
Nadya could only stare at the carnage. Her trigger finger kept pulling but the magazine was empty. Regina was on the verge of panic as the pain threatened to overwhelm her.
The knight brought up its left blade to decapitate the Unit, but 3-07 reflexively blocked with its right arm, deflecting it up over its head and sending the Archetype off-balance.
"Oww... Argh... Everything hurts!" Regina wailed.
"Your sync is at sixty-five. You're feeling the Unit's injuries more accurately than usual," Metzger explained. "Get back before it can attack again. Kasparova, try to draw its attention."
As Unit 3-07 limped away, the hacker steeled herself. Holding the knife in a reverse grip, she charged at the Warrior. Predictably, it took a swing at her head, which 4-04 avoided by sliding under the arm blade. As it slid past, the Shadow lodged its ultrathermic knife in the back of the knight's knee.
The Archetype roared in pain as it knelt, supporting itself with its blades. Deprived of the use of its main weapons, it spun around and snapped at the floored Unit with its shining teeth. Nadya rolled out of the way just in time, but it managed to catch 4-04's cable in its jaws...
"Oh shit!" Nadya looked at the 30-second timer that appeared. The remains of the cable still attached to the Unit were ejected onto the ground, using thrusters on the end to soften the landing. Without missing a beat, she disengaged from the fight and went to resupply.
The pain in Regina's leg had faded slightly. She was done running. Aiming through the assisted targeting display, she fired off a pair of flechettes which pierced the Warrior's armor and lodged themselves in its left bicep, making it difficult to swing that arm's blade.
The Warrior barrelled towards 3-07 on all fours, knocking it to the ground with a shoulder rush. The Unit tumbled backwards but held on to its weapon. Regina struggled to find her bearings before the monster could press its advantage.
"Hey, asshole! I'm back!" Nadya shouted as she fired her reloaded EM-7. The burst hit the weakened left arm, blowing it off entirely. The arm blade spun through the air before lodging itself in the muddy field.
"Die already!" Regina yelled as she fired her last shot. The flechette bored through the Warrior's body and sprayed a shower of molten C-alloy from the smoldering exit wound.
With only one arm and one good leg left, the Warrior raised its AT Field at full power to block 4-04's shots as it dragged itself towards 3-07.
"Uh... I need a reload, like, right now!" Regina shouted as she scrambled away from the Archetype, with her Unit still on its back.
A container dropped from the sky, deploying a parachute to slow it down as it landed next to Unit 3-07. Regina managed to grab the new magazine and started fiddling with her gun to insert it.
"Look out!" everyone else simultaneously shouted.
The Warrior used its remaining strength to bear down on the Shadow. Regina brought up the rifle, but it was batted away by the remaining arm blade, which then lodged into the ground as the Archetype landed on top of her and bit into the Unit's abdomen, tearing off a segment of armor with its jaws.
The pilot's scream flooded the comms.
"Neural activity spike! Sync ratio is up to seventy-five!" Sweat dripped down Lawson's face as she struggled to keep up with the readouts. "Levelling off... Dropping... Pilot is unresponsive!"
"Eject the plug!" Metzger ordered.
"I can't! It would just go straight into the ground," Lawson explained.
"I have the solution! It's called killing the fuck out of this bastard!" Nadya raised her left hand in the plug, with her Unit mirroring the action.
Lawson's eyes became even wider. "I'm detecting destructive interference in the Territory!"
The Warrior looked up from its feast to see the hateful eyes of its second foe. It was eroding the knight's Territory with its own. Instead of a raging roar, the Archetype let out a scream of fear as the Shadow levelled its rifle at the creature. With its main defense gone, all that was left was to cover itself with its remaining blade, which was broken by the first hypersonic slug. The rest of them ruptured its cuirass, with the last one shattering the red core inside. As a final act of defiance, the Warrior sacrificed its form to create the cross-shaped explosion, severely burning Unit 3-07 before fading away.
"Three-oh-seven's plug temperature is critical! I can't read the pilot's vitals!" Lawson shouted.
"Hey, Reg! Come in!" Nadya shouted over the comm.
"What about the A-two reactors? Did they safely shut down?" Metzger asked.
"Yeah, and no breach despite the damage to the abdomen," Lawson answered.
"Good. Send in the retrieval team. Have the nearest hospital's emergency department on standby in case there are serious injuries," the captain instructed.
Where am I?
Beep... beep... beep... beep...
All she could see was white light. She tried to move, but her body felt like it weighed a ton.
Beep... beep... beep... beep...
There was the sound of a door opening. Even the tiny wave of air from it made her skin prickle.
She heard the captain's deep voice. "How is she?"
An unfamiliar female voice responded. "There was nothing to worry about. She just needed a touch-up for the burns. Fortunately, her eyes were closed when the LCL started to boil."
Shit. I need a mirror, stat.
"Was there any mental contamination?"
That doesn't sound good.
"No, she lost synchronization around the same time she passed out. The three-series isn't particularly temperamental, so a berserk event was unlikely anyway"
"Is the remote sync regulator compatible with her Unit's circuits?"
"It should be, but it may need an adaptor. Talk to the techs and maybe they'll be able to install it while everything is still opened up for repairs."
"The CO designated three-oh-seven's repairs at a low priority even though it's the most damaged Unit we have. She said it's because four-oh-four and six-oh-six needed their post-deployment maintenance hours done ASAP in case we have another attack soon, but I suspect there's more to it than that."
Do they think I screwed up? Does everyone hate me now?
"I didn't think of Swan as the vindictive type. If anything, she's always overly composed and professional even when everything's going to shit."
"You're Nerv personnel, Doctor. I have noticed, however, that she has a certain callousness when it comes to the general public. The elder Stanford belongs to that category for her despite the utility of having a media empire at our beck and call."
"And the younger one?"
"Could be because she's a civvie, and a Stanford on top of that. Could also be because she was incapacitated during that fight while her Unit was technically capable of continuing."
They think my thing could've gone on in that state? How much punishment can those... cyborgs take?
"I read the report. Normal people don't have the kind of pain tolerance to shrug off injuries like that, especially not when their sync is over seventy."
"Normal doesn't cut it for her. During her time as a trainer, the colonel made a career of creating washouts en masse. She considers anything less than exceptional to be a sign of weakness."
I guess this is not my thing after all. All my life I've been told that I'm special, but really I just succeeded because I had money and people liked me. In the Shadow, it's all me. All I am in there is... worthless. It's not surprising that all I could do was screw up.
Regina squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hold back the tears and return to the respite of unconsciousness.