Chapter 74: Armageddon (Part 8)
"Hunter-Killers neutralized, we're simply waiting for your return, Master Alexander."
"Good to hear, we should be just about-"
A grunt of exertion as he contorted his body to the side, the Tower-class drone he'd been grappling with slamming to the side and earning itself Kawakaze's blade through its central processor, shutting down with little fanfare as he finished, "Just about done. TB, where do I put you?"
[Central computer, rip open the second panel from the right.]
Doing as suggested he strode past the wreckage of the paltry defense drones and tore into a series of rectangular cases that housed highly packed electronics, enough to cover a ten meter section of wall and then some as he decided the Old Siren interior decorating department was rather lacking. A command and control node had all the majesty of a walk in closet.
[You must admit we at least adhere to a pleasing ocean aesthetic in comparison, yes?]
"It's not a competition, TB."
Nevertheless smiling at the AI's joke as she jammed one of his Rigging's tentacles into the machines she more seriously stated, [This will take a few minutes. And I estimate that these new Hunter Killer drones will be upon us in less than that.]
"Can you assist me with time altering shit?"
[As of this moment, yes.]
Grimacing within his helmet he didn't even have time to ask if they were alright with this before Warspite and Kawakaze stepped forward, the Royal Navy Shipgirl confidently stating, "We'll draw their fire and allow you to perform your craft, My Liege."
"I really don't like this plan."
"It'd be worrying if you did."
The fox's blunt words had the Aloadae taking a deep breath, reminding himself that there was only minimal amounts of danger present, that they could redo this battle a few times if needed as long as he kept his head.
…It didn't help much.
"Fine, but bear in mind that I'm doing this shit under protest."
"Duly noted, My Liege."
Without further comment the duo raced to the entrance of the control room, taking up flanking positions and appearing just as resolute as ever despite the utterly haggard and exhausted demeanors they sported, all of them coming up fast on two plus days of nonstop battle.
Shaking his head clear of those meandering thoughts Alexander instead ran a check on his armor and weapons, nodding in satisfaction of what he found…which was a whole lot of almost nothing. His rotary and shoulder cannon had gone through so many barrel swaps that he'd stopped counting while he was on his ninth shield, the current hunk of metal already looking worse for wear as the entire suit hissed and creaked with every movement like a rusty car in dire need of a comprehensive trip to the mechanics.
But it was what he had to work with and he was going to have to make do, the Aloadae briefly hoping that TB would have the base under their control by the time the Hunter-Killers arrived so that they could avoid the whole fracas in the first place…and the quickly approaching sound of screeching metal dashed those hopes, the male crouching behind his shield with weapons at the ready, nervously watching the pair of Shipgirls as they bravely prepared themselves to ambush and potentially die to the damn things.
"I can't wait for a proper vacation to head my way."
And with that errant thought two hulking monstrosities rounded the corner, the battle beginning with depressingly little fanfare as he was rocked back on his heels, shield screeching with absorbed force as his rotary cannon went wide, stitching a hole in the ceiling as Warspite and Kawakaze took advantage of the drone hitting him with its cannons, the Battleship cleanly divesting it of one of its legs as her sword collapsed its shields, Kawakaze leaping onto its back as her Rigging fired a burst of concealing fire at the trailing machine, its own barrage whizzing by the Destroyer in a near miss-
-something its forward manipulator didn't do, tempered metal punching through Kawakaze's chest as spray of ruby spittle flew from her lips, eyes wide in shock at the brutal blow as Alexander grit his teeth, time rewinding itself around him as both the Shipgirls and Old Sirens returned to their previous positions, the Aloadae barking, "Don't go over the top, second Drone can hit you!"
Having learned a thing or two himself the male waited until the Hunter-Killers had rounded the corner and sighted on his position before leaping into a sideways roll, avoiding the kinetic round that would have absolutely rocked his shit as his Rigging's emitters threw up a layer of shielding, fire blossoming over the azure panes as heavy laser weaponry tracked him but ultimately held strong.
It was a good enough distraction that Warspite and Kawakaze could finish off the machine with their revised tactics, the Royal Navy Shipgirl repeating the leg crippling as the Destroyer instead used its briefly disrupted balance to dart beneath its bulk and perform some kind rotating slash with her blades that cut deep into the Hunter-Killer's insides, the machine releasing a voltaic squeal before unceremoniously collapsing in a sparking heap, the Shipgirls retreating from the collapsed hulk as Alexander provided covering fire, the second Hunter-Killer's shield flaring bright as his rotary cannon pounded away at it-
-and a grisly scream that sent shivers down his spine came from Warspite's lips as the Old Siren machine proved more than capable of carrying out offense and defense simultaneously as a kinetic round tore through her hip, right leg flying off to the side in a bloody display as his reversal of time was more instinctive than it was conscious, events returning to how they were seconds ago…and his attempt to warn Warspite was ruined by the heat buildup along his spine causing him to retch, nausea briefly overwhelming him as he collapsed forward, muscle memory nonetheless causing him to raise his arm and cut loose with his cannon.
And the Shipgirls, bless their hearts, perfectly recognized his state as a result of time reversal, throwing themselves into evasive rolls or dashes as they avoided the Hunter-Killer's follow up barrage, Warspite in particular turning on her heel to fire off a salvo of cannonfire that forced the drone to fully hunker behind its shields, Kawakaze taking the opportunity to close the gap as Alexander grimly realized this was the only halfway decent plan they had. The thing's shields and armaments were clearly leagues above their own so it was time to get in close and be the idiot he always knew he could be.
Powerful servos launched him forward, rotary cannon clicking dry as his shoulder-mounted cannon fired off a single burst that burnt starbright against the Hunter-Killer's shield, Warspite right alongside him as Kawakaze reached the thing first, taking his earlier words to heart about the machine having reach as she danced around its heavy swipes with blistering quickness, blades buzzing as what few strikes looked as if they might strike home were instead cut to ribbons, chunks of metal falling to the floor in a steady clatter as the Destroyer continuously contorted her body in and out of the machine's ranged weaponry.
The battle looked to be going even more in their favor as Warspite lunged forward, blade at the ready as Alexander took the more obvious but ultimately more beneficial path of leaping atop the Hunter-Killer, figuring that his armor would help guard against the back-mounted weaponry as well as keep him out of Warspite and Kawakaze's way.
What he hadn't accounted for was the immediate bitch slap to the face courtesy of a heavy laser cannon that knocked him flat against the back of the drone's 'head' and slagged a fair portion of his chest armor, Alexander grimacing at the hammerblow even as he was nearly thrown off by the construct's continued bucking and thrashing, desperately holding on by the skin of his teeth and hauling himself upwards as one of his Rigging's tentacles ripped the smoldering wreck off of his body.
On the plus side? He no longer had a burning hot chunk of armor searing his pecs. The downside? He was missing a rather significant bit of personal protection and past experience suggested he got hit. A lot.
So he instead went on the offensive, rising to his feet as his shoulder cannon returned fire, destroying the laser emitter and affording him the chance to raise his shield high, slamming it down on the top of the Hunter-Killer's body as metal crumpled and gears caught, the machine unleashing a grinding and unsettling howl that rose an octave as he heard the unmistakable sound of Kawakaze and Warspite tearing into the thing-
-and abruptly found himself tumbling ass over teakettle as the drone hurled itself into a forward roll that had him hit the ground hard, hasty scrabbling getting him on his feet just in time to catch a tumbling Warspite in his grasp, the Battleship sporting a pale expression and shortness of breath as she had doubtlessly caught one of the Hunter-Killer's thrashing legs, Kawakaze braving the meat grinder that was the drone's new position, trying to find an opportunity to strike a critical spot as Alexander sent a burst of mental communication that roughly translated as 'right here' as his shoulder cannon fired off one last burst before it overheated itself into inoperability, the Hunter-Killer's leg flying off in a spray of molten metal as the Destroyer sprinted forward, driving her swords deep into the drone's innards-
-and suffered a final blow for her efforts, sharpened chunk of metal courtesy of a thrashing melee weapon staining her abdomen crimson as Alexander cursed, rushing forward with a wheezing Warspite held tight as he shouted, "Kawakaze, are you alright?!"
The Sakura merely closed her eyes, jaw clenching before she yanked herself off of the tool, coughing as she wadded her tunic into the splurting wound, weakly replying, "I shall live."
"That does not make me feel better. How mobile are the two of you?"
He carefully set Warspite on her feet, the Battleship making to right herself-
-and violently winced as she remained in a sort of half-crouch, breathing shallow and wet as Kawakaze wasn't much better off, a shaky step forward causing the makeshift bandage to become soaked in red as the Aloadae growled out, "Yeah, not happening. TB, what's your status?"
[Teleportation array should be accessed momentarily, Master.]
"Can't fucking wait…"
Carefully picking up Kawakaze in his arms and ensuring Warspite was as gently held in his Rigging's grasp as possible so as to avoid aggravating her busted ribs - ignoring both of their indignant glares the entire time - he took a slow breath, the unending action finally starting to take its toll, especially after that last scrap.
The male was fairly certain he'd hit his head a little too hard despite the helmet, never mind that his armor had taken enough of a beating that moving it was a serious chore of protesting hydraulics…or the fever he powered through thanks to the rapid time reversals he'd enacted.
[Override successful. Master, the base's systems are now under our control.]
"Perfect, can you get us out and the Shinsei in?"
[One moment.]
Before the Aloadae could ask what a 'moment' would end up looking like there was a strange shifting of light and mist as his vision grew blurry-
-and blinked as he found himself facing down a bevy of guns aimed at his person, tensing for a moment before the soldiers recognized his profile, lowering their weapons as Akashi's voice abruptly shrieked out, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE ARMOR, NYA?!"
Lips peeling upwards into a grin at the Repair Ship's scandalized shout he glanced around and found that he'd been transported into what was undoubtedly a field hospital of sorts in one of the Bakunawa's holds, cheer quickly fading as there was no shortage of wounded and possibly even dying among the many people occupying beds all around the room, medics rushing in and around the various stations as Akashi tended to Le Malin and Tashkent, both of the Destroyers looking worse for wear as he saw none other than Richelieu and Algérie sitting nearby, both Shipgirls obviously in some stage of shock or another as Akashi bounded up to him, Rigging carefully plucking the pair of Shipgirls from his grasp as she anxiously asked, "Are we set to leave, nya? Things aren't looking too great and-"
"Shinsei's in place, make sure everyone's ready to move. How are they doing, while on the subject?"
"Keeping the Wisdom Cubes safe, nya. The Old Sirens went after them pretty hard…"
Nodding in acceptance of the grim fact and grateful that no one else had died he had the Bakunawa sound a general alarm as he prepared his ship to withdraw, knowing this was going to be a rough exit considering how deeply embedded the Bakunawa was into the base, the medics and guards bracing the wounded or themselves as Alexander triggered full reverse on his vessel-
-and felt a sympathetic pain as a god awful metallic wail echoed through the ship's halls, uncountable tons of metal grinding against other metal as the Bakunawa slowly and painfully withdrew from its position, the floor dangerously sagging beneath their feet as water once more became the only force keeping the gigantic vessel afloat, the rest of the fleet forming up around it as TB announced, [Shinsei is primed and ready for detonation, thirty minute countdown initiated.]
"I hate to be asking this NOW of all times but thirty minutes is enough to get clear, right?"
[Afford me some credit, Master.]
"Right, sorry."
Gently sitting on an unoccupied bed - the unfortunate thing creaking ominously with his weight - the Aloadae allowed a quiet, exhausted sigh to slip from his lips, not wanting to relax too much just in case the Old Sirens pulled some other brand of bullshit when they were least expecting it but feeling exhausted beyond any sensible measure, eyes drifting closed and affording him a soothing layer of darkness to take comfort in.
"Gonna ask for that damn vacation and not take no for an answer, come hell or high water. How about you, TB? Got any virtual beaches or something lined up?"
[...]
"TB? You there?"
Eyes drifting open Alexander immediately shot to his feet, wildly looking around the shifting, midnight sea adorned with pinwheeling stars and drifting currents of mist as he hefted his shield and prepared his shoulder cannon to sweep the area-
-and stopped cold as his weapons and armor were gone, bare feet gently caressed by the chilly water.
Bare tan feet, not bleached white by the process that had turned him into an Aloadae, body lacking the metal graftings and sculpted musculature he'd slowly gotten used to, now back to its wiry and whipcord physique as he was no longer towering above everything else in the vicinity.
"...Why am I back in my normal body?"
[We are here to commence a dialogue in our natural states.]
Almost leaping out of his skin Alexander whirled around, staring up at a nightmarish machine that he might have once stood level with.
It was vaguely similar to a Bunker class drone but possessed unnervingly humanoid structures, gangly and benthic as a single, glowing yellow optic stared down at him.
"That's nice and all but I thought we made our respective stances pretty clear the last time we spoke."
[Circumstances have changed. We desire a non aggression pact between ourselves and Species 826.]
The male tensed, eyes narrowing as he waited for the machine to complete its pitch, not believing for a second that there wasn't a catch.
[Conflict has escalated into unsustainable levels of attrition. New paradigms and strategies are needed. Mutual cooperation will alleviate these concerns.]
"And why should I believe a single word of what you have to say?"
[Access to this structure and technological benefits within will be granted. As compensation, Species 826 will desist in military action in this area. This agreement will apply to other geographical locations across the world, an exchange of technology for easing of military conflict.]
Alexander frowned at the terms, eventually asking, "And if I say no?"
The eye seemed to blaze with ominous intent.
[Then attritional conflict will continue.]
The Aloadae met the machine's gaze, much of his earlier apprehension gone in light of the construct's words.
"Let me guess, you ran the numbers and decided this would be a good stalling tactic or similar equivalent."
[It was decided that further action at this time would be detrimental to both sides.]
"Sure it was."
If he'd been in a less precarious position Alexander would have laughed, the machine clearly not possessing any kind of real negotiating ability. It was run on pure logic and calculations and in doing so it had tipped its hand…their constant fighting had been deemed too expensive and it was now trying to find another work around, tacitly admitting that they were on the backfoot, or at least perceived it that way.
Thus, he allowed a crooked smile to adorn his lips, leaning in with his nerves spiking.
"No deal. This conversation is over."
[Then attritional conflict with Species 826 will continue.]
Alexander braced himself for some kind of reprisal-
-and instead stumbled over in his seat as he was abruptly back in the here and now, blinking away the vestiges of unconsciousness he'd experienced as TB worriedly inquired, [Master? Are you present? Our connection was superseded and-]
"Yeah, I'm fine. The Old Siren's decided to pay us a visit and offer up a totally legitimate and certainly not diversionary agreement that I said fuck no to."
[An ultimately wise decision, Master. They would doubtlessly seek to break the agreement the moment it became possible for them to do so.]
"Agreed. How's the countdown going, are we going to make it in time?"
[See for yourself.]
Borrowing the Bakunawa's exterior cameras Alexander felt a grim smile adorn his features as he jumped into the picture just in time to see a significant portion of the base shudder and bulge outwards, fragments of it flying sky high as the Shinsei detonated within its steel belly, the portal in the center of the base slowly and gradually fading into nothingness as waves crashed and impacted against each other in a titanic display of shifting force that thankfully was nothing compared to what would have occurred if the Old Siren's would have had their way.
With glacial slowness the massive construct began to lightly slip beneath the waves, water rushing in through the massive holes the Shinsei had caused and slowly but surely drag it to the depths, Alexander briefly lamenting the loss of technological opportunity it was taking with it before shaking his head, knowing that it was undoubtedly for the better. That perfect rationality the Old Sirens had displayed was a two way street. While they may not have had any real concept of deception or a negotiating equivalent they also wouldn't have bothered to possess anything resembling honor or basic decency, their truce would have been worth only as much as they wanted it to be.
"We have any crisis or unexpected danger on the horizon, TB?"
[None at the moment, Master. As things stand you will likely be called for in a matter of hours but until then-]
"Excellent. I'm going to go ahead and pass out now."
Without further ado or parting words the Aloadae allowed himself to slip into comforting darkness, the days of constant combat and rushing adrenaline finally taking their toll.