Chapter 62: Cold Steel
Located in a dark room on an even darker patch of land, an android in a black YoRHa style uniform stood in front of a dozen different holographic screens, carefully studying them.
General Noir had served for many years, being a few centuries old at this point. And amongst the millions of androids on Earth, Noir was unique. The only other being of comparable construction was White, his 'younger sister' of sorts. He was a prototype for the YoRHa program, created for the sole purpose of defending the planet from the predations of the aliens.
The general had never cared to challenge White's actions or authority, despite having the power and authority to do so. When she had usurped the Council of Humanity, he could have replaced her. But he didn't. In fact, Noir had agreed with her, in part. The Council had grown corrupt, and had started to care less and less about their mission, as impossible as it may have been at the time. Orders were absolute.
That was why Noir had agreed to take up a posting in the most vital facility on Earth. He would guard the future, as was his purpose. Let White coordinate the fighting and be in charge of guiding the androids through the false Council. The General would do his duty.
Here, in the frozen wastes of Antarctica, he guarded the factories that churned out the highly advanced technology used by YoRHa and the rest of Earth's defenders. It was here that the PODs were built. Black Boxes, Flight Units, Mod Chips and so much more were forged in the foundries and industrial bases scattered around the continent, feeding the war effort.
His silent musings were interrupted when a door slid open, harsh white light flooding into the room. Two gynoids stood at the entrance, their expressions grim.
"Osaka has fallen."
General Noir said nothing at first, continuing to calmly observe the flow of data in front of him for a few moments before responding.
"Unfortunate."
There was nothing else to say. Osaka had not been a vital industrial or defensive node, but it had been a human city all the same, and its loss would be mourned.
General Noir then turned away from the screens and looked over to his aides-de-camp. They were a pair of gynoids, red-haired and identical in appearance. Two of the last Popola and Devolva models in existence, serving him loyally as they had for centuries.
"And what of New Babylon, Popola?" he inquired.
"Commander White reports that the defenses are nearly completely. Multiple energy shields are going to cover the entire city and will take something on the magnitude of Grun to even breach," Popola replied, reading off the data-slate in her hands. A POD hovered over her shoulder, holding more files and data for the two of them to look over. "The evacuations are still ongoing, but they will not succeed in getting all of the humans out in time."
"Send whatever supplies we can spare," he told her after a moment. "The city must not fall."
"Yes, sir," she nodded.
"Devolva, what is the status of Purple Athena's forces?" he inquired.
"Her armies are heading towards New Babylon with all haste. The numbers are… daunting," the red-head admitted nervously.
The general nodded slowly. He'd seen the preliminary scans. One million Neo-Machines of assorted buildings and capabilities were heading towards New Babylon from the north and south. Half a million had just overrun Osaka, while the other half-million were in the process of besieging Morioka.
At best, it'd take a week for Purple Athena to brute force her way towards the city where the Last Human was. Time was not on their side, and Noir felt a rare flicker of worry at the thought.
"Can we step up production on munitions?" he inquired, although he had a feeling he already knew the answer.
"Not without compromising other vital industrial processes," Popola replied with a shake of her head.
Noir did not sigh. Such an act was unbefitting of an android, especially one of his rank. That did not mean he didn't feel the urge to do so.
"And what about our own… guests?" Noir asked, though the word dripped with sarcasm.
"They continue to try and fail," Devolva smirked.
With a nod, Noir left the room and strode down a hallway, his two aides following behind as always. The general soon entered an observation deck that looked out over a storm-wracked, frigid bay. Enormous black steel walls lashed by wind and waves and caked in snow and frost loomed above the pristine white landscape, and formed a barricade between the rest of the world and the frozen continent. Gun battery emplacements bristled defiantly atop it, missile silos hid behind it, and countless mines filled the bay, all ready to destroy any intruders.
This desolate sight was the Maw. Once known as Mawson Station, formerly an Australian Antarctic research base, it had been taken over by Hamelin and the Gestalt Project in the waning days of humanity and turned into the gateway to Antarctica.
And it was currently the command center of all YoRHa and the Army of Humanity's activity on Earth's coldest continent. Behind the Maw, deep within the interior of the continent, lay the most advanced factories and fabricators available to the defenders of Earth. Without this vital industrial node, YoRHa would never have come to be and the defense against the aliens would have faltered within a few centuries.
Most importantly, it had weathered countless assaults by the Machine Lifeforms throughout the numerous wars without ever faltering thanks to a series of onsite ammunition fabricators that could supply the automated defenses so long as resources were available.
Yet today, General Noir could not help but think that today just might be the day the Maw fell.
The Aliens and Machines had never bothered to build a navy to contest the androids' control of the oceans, relying on aerial units to fly over their opponents. Yet Purple Athena was not her predecessors, and had created naval units, along with infantry that were much more resistant to the biting chill of Antarctica.
And to his shame, Noir had not seen it coming. The Maw was not designed for holding off a traditional navy, and it had suffered for this lack of foresight. Far too many guns had fallen silent, and far too many filthy Machine Lifeforms trampled the snow, trying to make it up to the fortress at the center of the bay.
Despite the grimness of the situation, the command center was filled with noise and activity as androids did their duties coordinating the defenses. There were YoRHa units working alongside Resistance models, all serving humanity together.
"Status update," Noir said, and one of the Operators manning a console bobbed her head.
"The Maw's defenses are down to 61% effectiveness," she informed the general. "The Neo-Machines have disabled numerous turrets and cannons, and their wrecks are clogging the water."
"Deploy Gravity Mines as counter measures," Noir instructed. The O-type nodded and relayed his commands. Hatches under the water on the floor of the bay opened up, releasing numerous experimental anti-ship weapons.
"Activate the Gravity Mines," Noir ordered, and a moment later, all across the Maw miniature black holes opened up, obliterating huge swathes of the invading forces, compressing numerous warships into compact hunks of metal that sank to the bottoms of the bay.
"Good work," he nodded.
"73% of the New Empire Navy has been destroyed!" somebody called out, and a cheer rang out.
"Seems like the weapons work just as planned," Devolva said with a vicious grin.
"I would have preferred if we could have tested the Gravity Mines in a more controlled environment, but I cannot deny the effect they have," Popola agreed.
"Yes, I think we can begin producing them for defending our naval bases…" Noir started to reply, but trailed off as something large pinged off of the radar, alerting him.
"Report!" he snapped, and the radar operator winced.
"Unknown contact approaching!" he called out. "Size… three times larger than a Goliath-class airship! But the energy output is ten times that of a regular Goliath!"
"When will it be in visual range?" Noir demanded.
"Soon, general!" the operator replied. "Visual contact in three… two… now! Pulling up satellite camera feed!"
A holographic screen flickered to life in the commander center, and it revealed what was approaching the Maw. It was huge, just as stated, but it wasn't big and blocky.
It had a pair of massive, bat-like wings, a long spike studded tail, and a reptilian body complete with two arms and two legs armed with claws. Last but not least, a long neck that ended in a reptilian head bearing a mouth full of dagger-like teeth. And it was made entirely out of metal.
"What is that?!" Popola exclaimed in shock, and Noir frowned.
"It appears to be a Machine Lifeform in the shape of a western dragon," he said calmly.
"We can see that!" Devolva snapped. "What she means is what is it doing here?!"
"Purple Athena made it. No doubt this is her attempt to create her own Grun," the general guessed.
In the air, the metallic dragon's jaws dropped open, and a searing, purple light began to burn within.
"Raise the shields!" Noir shouted urgently, recognizing an attack when he saw one.
Just in time, a dozen maso barriers sprang up around the fortress, protecting it from the laser breath attack. The shields trembled and barely held on, but after a few seconds the beam ceased and the overlapping energy fields continued to hold.
"Retaliate!" Noir ordered, pointing imperiously at the enemy Neo-Machine. "Slay that dragon!"
The androids reacted eagerly, activating the weapon platforms that were still online and firing them at the Machine Dragon. Missiles and bullets – maso and regular munitions alike – tore into it, slamming into the Neo-Machine's form. Weak barriers flickered across its body, lighting up as it absorbed or deflected the attacks, but the dragon's defenses were not perfect and many shots slipped through, ripping into metal and shredding its scales.
The dragon did not stay idle, of course. As the barrage from the fortress walls struck it, it flew around, unleashing smaller but no less devastating laser breaths onto the gun emplacements. Several bunkers were wiped out as beams of purple maso drilled through the walls and ceilings and exploded violently, and multiple artillery batteries were reduced to slag by lasers or simply ripped from the walls by claws. The dragon even fired micro-missiles from its wings, tearing through the turrets.
But there was far more firepower the Maw could bring to bear, and little by little, attrition managed to whittle the dragon down until a lucky shot managed to land on its chest, destroying its core and causing the entire body to tear itself apart midair in a series of explosions.
"We did it!" Devolva cheered, pumping a fist into the air. Even the general flashed a rare smile at the sight of the fragments of the Machine Dragon plunging into the frigid artic waters.
Unfortunately, victory was short lived, as eleven more identical dragons appeared in the air over the bay, the flickers of stealth shields falling away, causing the defenders to gasp in horror.
"Impossible!" Popola hissed.
"It took everything we had to bring down one of them! How are we going to be able to destroy all eleven?!" Devolva cried out.
"It was a trap!" Noir snarled. It was clear to the general that the first dragon had merely been sent to test the Maw's defenses. And now that Purple Athena knew what the fortress could bring to bear, it was time to eliminate the Terran Army's largest industrial sector.
In unison, the newly arrived dragons opened their mouths, and fired off eleven devastating beams of energy at the command center.
"SHIELDS!" Noir roared, even as he grabbed Devolva and Popola and threw them behind him while raising a maso shield of his own around them.
One dragon had been able to tax the incredible forcefields that protected the Maw. Eleven ripped through the barriers and carved apart the fortress walls, vaporizing huge chunks while other parts exploded spectacularly.
The command center trembled and the ceiling collapsed along with parts of the floor falling away. One of the dragon's laser had pierced clean through the middle of the room, blasting apart numerous consoles and computers along with the androids operating them.
When the devastation finally ended, Noir emerged from the dust and ash, throwing off a heavy chunk of ceiling that had threatened to crush them.
"Report," he ordered.
"Direct hit," Popola said, somewhat unnecessarily. The destruction of the command room was obvious to any observing. "83% damage to the fortress and its immediate facilities, and climbing. The elements of Purple Athena's navy that were not destroyed by the Gravity Mines are docking at what's left of the harbor, and several battalions of Neo-Machines have already disembarked. The Maw… I fear the Maw is done for."
"Some of the weapon emplacements are still intact and running on auto-pilot," Devolva said from where she'd been pinned underneath some rubble. "And a couple of elite YoRHa units are holding the line."
"They won't be enough," Noir replied, grabbing the rubble and throwing it off of the red-headed gynoid.
"Do we still have communications?" Noir asked, and Popola nodded after checking.
"Yes," she said simply.
"Send White all the data we were able to acquire on these new Machine Lifeforms," he requested. "And… send her my apologies that I won't be able to see her again."
"Of course, sir," Popola said softly.
"Good. Next, send a general evacuation order. You and your sister need to leave," he ordered. "Go. Find shelter in one of the bunkers. Protect the factories further in as best you can."
"What about you, sir?" Devolva asked, trying to sit up.
"I will take as many of these dragons out as I can," the general replied, helping a few other survivors up.
"How?" Devolva demanded incredulously.
"I will use the Forbidden Ten," Noir replied grimly.
"That will kill you," Popola whimpered.
"If that is what it takes to hold the enemy off, then so be it," he replied. "Go. Now!"
Giving him a final salute, the remaining androids fled the ruins of the command center, while sending off the final orders he'd given.
Once they were gone, General Noir left as well, but he did not head for the escape tunnels. Instead, he made his way into an armory located deep within the bowels of the Maw, which had miraculously survived. Though given how heavily protected it had been by numerous experimental Phase Lock shields designed to cut off the vault from time itself, it made sense.
Opening the vault using his access codes, the commander of the Maw walked inside, and looked at the interior. It was empty, save for ten indentations in the floor.
"Unlock Experimental Weapons Lockers 1 through 10," General Noir said, and after a moment ten lockers rose up out of the spots on the floor of the vault and opened up, revealing several complex-looking weapons. He carefully removed each one, digitizing it with his built-in Inventory system.
"Ten weapons to take down ten dragons," Noir muttered to himself. "It will have to be enough."
Suitably armed, he ventured back up into the Maw's hangar, and found an intact aerial unit. Strapping in, he shot out of the fortress and flew up towards the dragons.
Before they could detect him, let alone react, Noir unsealed the first of the ten most dangerous weapons ever conceived of by mankind or its android successors.
A missile containing a canister full of shimmering silver liquid shot forward, slamming into the Machine Dragon that was the closest to him. Upon impact it exploded, shattering the canister and spreading its contents all over the draconic Neo-Machine. Its barriers tried to activate, but too much had already slipped through and began to attack the metallic carapace of the dragon, eating it away.
"Experimental Weapon Number 1. Grey Goo. A plague of metal-eating nano-bots designed to target the Machine Lifeforms. Deemed too hazardous to deploy as the nanites could not distinguish between targets. Only to be used if 99% of planet Earth became occupied by Machine Lifeforms. Androids in space would rebuild after the Grey Goo had consumed all available metals and starved to death," General Noir intoned darkly as the strange quicksilver-like substance began to act like acid upon the metallic scales of the dragon-shaped Neo-Machine. "Only to be unsealed with Thanatos-Omega level authorization."
The silvery goop spread fast, devouring the dragon's body in seconds, and the ten other dragons immediately reacted as one, firing ravening beams of energy onto their infected companion, utterly vaporizing it along with the nanites.
While they were distracted with that, Noir summoned his second weapon, this one in the form of a Type-3 Blade crossed with an Engine Blade, but this great sword had a glowing white core in the center.
Noir flew up to another dragon while they were busy eliminating the first one, and swung his blade at it, cutting into its side. Upon contact with the second Machine Dragon's body, the great sword unleashing a massive electro-magnetic pulse which pulverized the Machine Lifeform's complex systems. The shockwave the weapon unleashed was massive, and it was only thanks to the extreme speeds of aerial unit that the general was able to avoid also being engulfed in the blast.
"Experimental Weapon Number 2: EMP Blade," Noir state coldly as the second dragon was defeated, its remains falling away while the core of the weapon dimmed and went out. "A powerful melee weapon with the ability to fire off EMP to disable Machine Lifeform cores. Unfortunately, the EMP burst was too large and would disable the wielder as well. EMP was strong enough to destroy android Black Boxes as well, causing them to self-destruct, since they're made from similar components as the Machine cores. Not to mention that the weapon's battery can only hold a single charge. Only to be used if androids could be built fast enough to replace those lost by using the EMP Blade and there were no worries about collateral damage or fallout. Unsealed via Thanatos-Omega level clearance."
He tossed the spent weapon aside while flying upwards to evade several laser beams sent his way. The dragons flew after him, but Noir had already unsealed his third weapon.
This time it took the form of a large cannon, one that vaguely resembled an anti-tank rifle but with tesla coils around the barrel. He then dove down, slipping between the dragons until he was beneath one of them. Noir pointed his cannon up and fired it at the dragon.
The coils lit up and unleashed a bright, blinding flash while the bullet it fired split the Neo-Machine in half and kept going all the way into the sky. A second later the deafening sonic boom it made rang out, the sound finally catching up with it.
The weapon was too powerful, though, and its recoil had completely bent the barrel and nearly ripped Noir's arm left arm clean off his body.
"Experimental Weapon Number 3: High-Powered Gauss Rifle," the general revealed as he threw it aside. "Extremely destructive, and thanks to maso, capable of launching a coin-sized slug at a fraction of light speed. The round is too powerful and does not get affected by friction or inertia as normal. Initial tests showed that the bullets could reach the Moon's surface or pierce through several miles of the planet's crust. This would cause earthquakes in the area around the impact site, and did in fact cause one that resulted in the sinking of the Philippine Islands due to a tsunami. Only to be used as long it was aimed away from any nearby celestial bodies, and unsealed via Thanatos-Omega level clearance."
As the third Machine Dragon fell apart, Noir unsealed the fourth weapon. This time, it was a seemingly ordinary POD. Yet when it started to charge up a Maso Spell Program, instead of the usual white energy, the maso was pitch black.
The dragons weren't stupid, and tried to evade the next super-weapon's attack, but the POD's tracking programs were superior and a beam of black energy shot forth and struck a fleeing Neo-Machine in the back.
"Experimental Weapon Number 4: Obliteration Magic," Noir explained as the robot dragon ceased to exist along with the POD, both objects crumbling into black dust that was scattered into the wind. "Anti-matter mixed with maso particles. Each time the spell is cast, it destroys both its target and the medium through which it is cast. Deemed too dangerous to be used except through proxy units. PODs deemed too useful to be treated as disposable tools outside of exceptional circumstanced. Only authorized to be unsealed by Thanatos-Omega level clearance."
The fifth weapon appeared in Noir's remaining hand a second later, revealing what seemed to be a black and white Rubix Cube that the general threw at one of the Machine Dragons. Yet when the panels unfolded, a black hole was revealed to be contained within, and it sucked up the dragon before vanishing.
"Experimental Weapon Number 5: Artificial Singularity," Noir said simply. "Too unstable. Only to be used in the event of total annihilation protocols."
Then, he brought out two new objects. A pair of black swords similar to the Type-40 model appeared in his hands.
"Experimental Weapons Number 6 and 7: Dimension Severing Blades," Noir informed the Neo-Machines as he flew towards one of the Machine Dragons. It tired to blast him with its laser breath, but the general cut the attack in half with his twin blades!
"A combined experiment to try and perfect teleportation technology and create a blade that could cut through anything at the same time. The results were satisfying, at first," Noir stated as he brought the blades down onto the dragon's neck, severing it. Yet as soon as it happened, the two swords seemed to glitch and then vanish into thin air along with the two halves of the corpse! "Deemed to be unusable due to the weapons' habit of teleporting themselves and whatever it was they cut into an unknown dimension. Only to be unsealed by Thanatos-Omega level clearance."
Noir spun around, narrowly avoiding being ripped in half by a Machine Dragon's claws. The remaining five Dragons converged on him, forgoing their breath attacks to try and physically rend him apart.
One of them managed to remove his left arm, biting it clean off, although since it was already on the verge of falling off it wasn't a major loss.
However, he couldn't let such a thing slide, and in response, Noir summoned the next weapon. It looked like a Dragoon Lance, but the spear point resembled a drill. The weapon began to spin, and as it did so, the drill emitted wave after wave of gravity distortions that bent the air itself.
The dragon that'd bitten his arm off was caught in the distortion field, and violently pulled apart on a molecular level until nothing was left. Of course, the drill was no exception, parts of its breaking off until it was gone as well.
"Experimental Weapon 8: Extermination Lance," Noir said. "Based off of a weapon called 'EA' from an old human animated show, its ability to molecularly rend targets apart was too powerful and it would break down after a single use, requiring new ones to be built each time. Deemed to be too expensive to mass produce. Only to be unsealed if the cost was worth it, and with Thanatos-Omega level clearance."
As he gave his monologue, Purple Athena sent her Machine Dragons after him, but he was ready for it, and when one of them tried to rip him apart, a protective suit of armor which took the form of a suit of black, medieval style full plate, appeared around his body.
"Experimental Weapon 9: Berserker Armor. Vastly increases strength and speed of a unit, at the cost of damaging their body. Only to be unsealed via Thanatos-Omega level clearance, and to be used in the event that the wearer is not planning leaving the fight alive," Noir said as he punched the dragon that'd tried to rend him with its claws, shattering both its head and his fist.
Then, in a clever display of coordination, the three remaining Machine Dragons unleashed laser beams onto the general, and the armor managed to tank the hits, though it broke apart afterwards.
Unfortunately, the attack also destroyed the aerial unit, causing Noir to plummet out of the sky. And without his remaining arm, he couldn't hold the last weapon!
Gleefully, Purple Athena directed her servants to finish him off before he could hit the ground, yet when the Machine Dragons approached, the general just laughed.
"Experimental Weapon Number 10: Chrono-Stasis Bomb," Noir sneered as where his Black Box should have been, an explosive device had been hidden. "Designed to preserve human relics for future use. Deemed a failure due to unexpected side effects of the technology destroying whatever was within the field of altered time. Requires Thanatos-Omega clearance to be used."
Only one of the Neo-Machines managed to escape, it having been the furthest from the falling general when his final weapon was activated.
The experimental time warp bomb went off at point blank range, preventing two of the three dragons from escaping.
Their roars were cut off as both of them were trapped within an expanding bubble of distorted time centered on the general. Those who had been caught simply hung there, suspended in the air, unable to move.
After a moment the bubble of stopped time flickered before imploding in on itself, wiping out two of the monstrosities alongside the general.
The remaining dragon roared angrily, eyes turning purple as its mistress peered through them and observed the situation.
After a moment, it flew away, leaving the conquest of Antarctica to Purple Athena's other forces. It had a new mission.
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Author's Note:
Here's another chapter for your enjoyment! Reminder, I'm trying something new to get chapters out sooner!
If you want to read chapters early, or just want to support my writing, please check out Akashicrecordstrue over on the site that rhymes with Flareon.