Chapter 34 Looking Down
Sol System – In The Belt – Independent Ship Rocinante / 2737 – Twelfth Year of the Three-Rebellions War
Her ship, the Karakum, had been stuck in dock for repairs, so for the moment she was without a command. Even so, she was far from the only independent mercenary with a warship fighting for the machines of The Assembly. So, she'd hired someone to get her to an important meeting, a friend who commanded a sister-ship of the Karakum.
Pound for pound, the Rocinante was nearly identical to the Karakum, a Martian built Corvette Class Frigate (stupid class name I know) with serious aftermarket upgrades like a keel mounted railgun and heavy landing gear for in-atmosphere landings.
The Rocinante was technically understrength, owing to the fact that she only had a crew of five, but even so, those five were like a family.
Holden, ex-Earth Navy, dishonorably discharged for refusing to fire on a ship smuggling Belter refugees (and then trying and failing to punch his commanding officer). Went into the ice-hauling business for years before stumbling upon a misplaced Martian Frigate and claiming "legitimate salvage rights". As Captain of the Rocinante, he didn't ask for much, but he did like his coffee.
Nagata, ex-Belter radical. A tiny but fierce woman. Smartest drive-engineer in the system, so she served as the ship's chief engineer. Probably the harshest critic of The Assembly in defense of her people, but knew what Inaros was doing was wrong and worse. The visiting Captain wasn't sure what made her marry Holden.
Burton, ex-ORCA Marine. Grew up hard in the underground megaslums of The League before being forcibly drafted for the ORCA Rebellion. Somehow survived Verdict Day while serving the notorious Commander White, who'd sent her troops headfirst into the meatgrinder The League had waiting for them. Went AWOL the first chance he got and escaped to the edge of the system, doing the same ice-run from Saturn to Ceres as Holden and Nagata. He trusted them with his life, while he served as their chief mechanic. He had the scariest eyes when he got mad.
Draper, ex-Martian Marine, Force Recon. Giant woman of Samoan ancestry, she used to go into battle wearing advanced power-armor strong enough to match a Lynx. Went AWOL when she realized Admiral Duarte was doing some mischievous shit. She served as the ship's gunner and/or pilot. Fiercely patriotic for Mars, but a really big softy, not that she let it show.
Lastly, and most surprisingly, Mao, a League Corporate Princess who somehow survived the purge of League executives in 2450. For someone who spent the first decade of her adult life arranging cocktail parties for the other irresponsibly rich corporate overlords of Earth, she'd done well to survive this long in the black, getting by as an assistant mechanic. Usually timid and shy in an effort to hide her identity, she had an adrenaline-pumping augment that could make her as terrifying as a Lynx in a fight, at least for a few seconds. Burton called her Peaches, and no one knew why. He wasn't sleeping with her.
The ride so far had been pleasant. Since they'd been fighting side-by-side for the last three years, and had worked together before the war, they all knew her, technically, and were all friendly and open, even in-spite of her name.
It would have probably been the most peaceful trip since the start of the war. Except that the Free Navy was suddenly baring down on them.
Three ships, two improvised Belter torpedo boats with welded on external racks, and the flagship of the Free Navy, the Martian built Raptor Class Light Cruiser, Pella. Built like a miniature Donnager Class, with four drive cones propelling it's solid brick body, it's role in a fleet was exclusively as a hunter-killer. Unlike a versatile multi-role class like the Scirocco, the Raptor Class ship's only purpose was to prosecute targets with it's vast missile stores. As the three ships slotted in behind the Rocinante, they fired off eleven torpedoes, trying to overwhelm the lone ship's PDC grid.
But this was far from the Roci's first rodeo, as her crew lovingly called her. Spinning defensively, she used her six PDC cannons to eliminate the incoming missiles efficiently, then answered back with four torpedoes dropped in the path of the Pella.
The four blips on radar that represented the Roci's torpedoes disappeared, having failed to penetrate the superior defenses of the larger Martian ship.
"They got 'em all." Holden announced sourly, even having expected that outcome.
"They're closing!" Nagata warned, her voice strained from the high-G burn.
"More torpedoes incoming!" Draper announced, stressed but calm.
"We're out of our weight class here." Holden advised, knowing the prospects for winning were not good. "I'm heating up the rail gun."
"…?" The Guest Captain wondered what his plan was. The keel mounted gun was locked in a forward position, requiring the nose to be pointed at a target to hit it. This made shooting at targets chasing them very difficult. The only way they would hit the target would be…
Oh. The Guest Captain held on tightly in anticipation.
"We're too far away!" Nagata informed the Roci's captain.
"It's the only chance we've got." Holden declared. "Everybody brace for a hard spin!"
Barely a second later, the Guest Captain's stomach floated up painfully in her chest as the ship spun end-over, fusion drive offline. There was a jarring kick in the chest as the railgun fired without the drive activating to dampen the recoil. The Roci tumbled till her nose was pointed away from the enemy again, and the drive resumed it's high-burn retreat from the enemy fleet.
A few seconds later, and the railgun shell reached the enemy fleet, going straight through one enemy escort, nose to stern, and killed it's drive. The Pella's other escort broke off the pursuit to aid it's stricken ally.
Two down with one shot was a good trade. But the heavy Martain built ship represented the elite of the Free Navy. It would not be so easily dissuaded from it's hunt.
The Pella fired four more torpedoes, straight up the Roci's tail, giving them barely any time to shoot them down from uncomfortably close range. The Roci cut thrust and spun, sending another ten-kilogram tungsten slug towards their pursuer. Unfortunately, the mere act of cutting thrust and spinning gave the Pella's pilot plenty of time to anticipate the shot, allowing them to dodge with a hard shove of it's forward maneuvering thrusters, missing by a few meters.
"Clean miss. Fuck." Holden cursed.
"Four more torpedoes incoming." Draper announced. "We can't keep this up forever."
"We're damaged!" Nagata shouted. "Port PDCs are misfiring!"
"Copy that on the PDCs." Burton answered from the machining room.
"Where are you going?" Mao questioned as Burton removed his harness restraints.
"I gotta fix 'em." He answered matter-of-fact.
"In the middle of the fight!?" Mao questioned.
"That's the job, Peaches." Burton assured her excitedly. Mao reluctantly followed him.
"Everyone brace!" Holden announced, giving his crew a chance to hold on as he prepared the Roci for another spin. Shooting down the next wave of torpedoes, he spun the ship around, and sent another slug at their pursuer, letting them know they still had fangs.
"Ugh, did we get him?" Burton groaned from the exhaustion of holding on while the ship had spun.
"No." Holden announced, annoyed but focused.
"Let us know if you need to do that again." Burton suggested.
"Just get those PDCs back." Holden ordered. Burton groaned, but kept that off coms.
"…" The Guest Captain analyzed the situation. They were down a third of their PDCs and a third of their 40mm caseless ammo, and a fifth of their torpedoes, being pursued by an enemy with twice as many PDCs and several times the missile stores. Not to mention that the longer they stayed in the fight, the longer and harder they'd have to perform a braking burn to get themselves back on course, so there was a time limit and a risk of running out of fuel as well.
They only had three weapon types, each with their own strengths and limitations. The keel mounted railgun that could absolutely wreak ships, but required them to be at a relatively close range to actually land a hit, else the enemy could easily dodge and fill the sky with missiles. Sixteen remaining nuclear torpedoes, which while powerful, were not enough to overmatch a Raptor Class's defenses while it chased them. If they tried to fire all their torpedoes at once, the Pella could just launch just as many intercepting missiles, and use their PDCs to defeat the rest.
That just left their four remaining PDC turrets that fired 40mm Teflon coated caseless tungsten ammo, which was unlikely to kill a ship as large as a Raptor Class without firing a few thousand rounds, in addition to the fact that the bullets were slow as hell, at least compared to the scale of space combat.
Yet the Guest Captain knew there was one thing about 40mm rounds from PDCs that made them unique in space combat. Once the combat computer on an enemy ship confirmed that a burst of 40mm rounds was not going to hit them, the rounds and their flight trajectory were removed from the tactical display by default, since those rounds were then considered "no-factor" for the rest of combat, cause the vastness of space meant that they would be unlikely to hit anything every again. It also helped keep the display clear of clutter.
But in order for that information to be useful, she'd need for the enemy to stumble into a burst of PDC rounds willingly, which was easier said than done. Although, all she really needed was for the enemy to make a critical mistake, just one time.
"Give me fire control." The Guest Captain demanded.
"You got something?" Holden wondered what had his guest so excited.
"Do your spin again." The Guest Captain suggested. "I'll take the shot."
"We're too far away. They're seeing us spin and evading before I can fire." Holden explained quickly.
"Just give me the shot." The Guest Captain sneered as she demanded again.
"Alright." Holden relented as he authorized the Guest Captain to handle the weapons. "Everyone hang on."
The Roci spun end-over-end, and fired her railgun back towards the Pella. The larger ship dodged easily, and wasted the shot.
"Missed." Holden announced annoyedly.
"Port." The Guest Captain pointed out the pattern in the Pella's movements. "They dodged to port both times."
"…I get it." Holden caught up to the Guest Captain, having exactly the same idea. "Torpedoes?"
"Yeah, give them something else to worry about." The Guest Captain advised. "Four converging, and manual PDCs to me."
"Copy that. Everyone hang on!" Holden warned once again, more hopeful than before.
Holden launched four torpedoes that dropped from the Roci's launchers, straight back towards the Pella. A second later, the Guest Captain fired a twenty round burst from each PDC out into open space past the larger ship.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. Four.
The Pella opened up with it's PDCs, and easily shot down all four missiles headed it's way.
Six seconds. Seven seconds.
Holden cut thrust and spun the Rocinante.
Eight seconds.
A ten-kilogram tungsten slug rocketed out the front end of the Roci at a tiny percentage of C. But the Pella had seen the spin coming, and so easily dodged to port.
Nine seconds.
Eighty 40mm tungsten rounds stitched themselves across the front and starboard face of the Pella, punching through several decks and tearing through anyone and anything unfortunate enough to be in the way. The cruiser's main drive shut off, and it drifted, it's primary computer system dead.
"Holy shit it worked." Holden seemed amazed. He'd cut thrust for the Roci as well, maintaining relative position from the Pella.
"They're down but they're not out." The Guest Captain reminded them. "Time to end them."
"Hold your fire." Holden ordered.
"What? Why?" The Guest Captain wondered, annoyed.
"Marco's better as a prisoner than a martyr." Holden suggested.
"Yeah, but he's never gonna surrender." Nagata warned.
"They're not going to be down for long." The Guest Captain added. "Our window's closing."
"If this doesn't work, you fire." Holden ordered, appeasing his guest. He opened a tight beam communication channel to the Pella.
Someone answered.
When Earth was bombed by rocks at the start of the Three Rebellions War, the whole system got it's first look at the laughably stubborn pirate who would become the undisputed leader of the Belt with his own fleet of advanced Martian warships.
His most recognizable feature was his mane of curly black hair that flowed untamed. He looked like the mythicized "Fabio" that once adorned the cover of really questionable romance novels from Earth's ancient history.
Except unlike Fabio, Marco also had the distinction of being a space pirate terrorist.
Holden and Marco stared at each other for several uncomfortable seconds. Marco had managed to catch Holden off guard by answering so quickly, and seemed to know just what to say.
"Captain Holden." Marco said slowly in mock praise.
"Power down and send us your control codes." Holden ordered. "I'll see you're treated fairly. This is your only chance."
This is where things got complicated.
See, there was a reason that the great Marco Inaros had such a weirdly strong murder boner for Captain Holden. He slowly slid his chair back and revealed it (his reason, not the boner).
Seated beside Marco, was his son, Philip Inaros. Who was also the son of Chief Engineer Nagata.
That was the problem for Holden. Kill Inaros and end the war, and kill his wife's teenage son in the same stroke.
"I will die before I live at the end of your leash." Marco said stoically, whispering arrogantly.
It was a damn hard choice, and the Guest Captain knew Holden couldn't make that call.
"Fire one." The Guest Captain announced grimly, sending one torpedo from the Roci down to the Pella.
It was a painfully long wait, that everyone seemed to be staring at each other, waiting for the end.
The torpedo slammed into the nose of the Pella. Nothing happened.
"A…f-fucking dud?!" The Guest Captain cursed.
The comm line cut, and the Pella gently flipped over, reengaging their drive away from the Rocinante.
"The Pella's breaking off." Nagata reported, surprised and relieved. She wouldn't have to watch her son die today. "They're not pursuing us."
"Did we win?" Burton asked, not queued into the events that had transpired on the bridge.
"No." Draper reported soberly. "But at least we didn't lose."
"…!" The Guest Captain seethed, cursing that twelve years of war had just nearly ended, but would be forced to continue for who knew how long, and costing who knew how many more lives.
She didn't see the command prompt on Holden's helmet.
/WARHEAD: DISARMED
/AUTH: HOLDEN, J
The Captain of the Rocinante stared ahead, stoic with equal parts shame and relief.
Rubicon III - Grid 085 – Drone Sanctuary – Western Belius / Sunday, Claudius 23rd, 3175
There was one consistent question that kept repeating itself whenever Tessa visited the Drone Sanctuary.
What now?
"How's it looking out there, exile?" Carla asked over a call, mildly concerned.
"Umm…?" Tessa struggled to answer her master as she waded through a crowd of relatively upset teenage Worker Drones. They seemed angry, but it was difficult to gauge exactly how angry because all they were doing was shaking their fists above their heads while occasionally "booing" or cheering to someone speaking on a stage. "I think they're rioting?"
"Yeah, I can see that." Carla responded dryly. "The question is why?"
Tessa eventually squeezed her way up to the "stage", which was little more than a conveyor belt that had been turned off. Standing up there, antagonizing the crowd, was a strange little second Gen Drone. Strange in that he was one of very few Drones that had come to Rubicon wearing pants.
Braidon was his name, and he was unique for wearing a business suit and shorts. He had his personality set to "rich frat boy" which…Tessa wondered how he even appraised value since Workers had no concept of economics before coming to Rubicon.
The only other interesting thing about him was that supposedly, Uzi had set his head on fire back on Copper IX, and it had stayed that way for an unspecified period of time.
"This place blows!" Braidon complained. "And we demand a change!"
"Yeah!" His fellow young Workers shouted approvingly.
"Our so-called protector, 'Cinder' Carla, has failed to inspire us in numerous ways! Where is her drip? Her clout? A real leader has the most followers and likes, and isn't ratioed or ever cringe!"
"Boo! Carla is cringe!" The Workers shouted in approval.
"And most criminal of all, is that Carla hasn't given us any form of social media!" Braidon shouted. "How are we supposed to get clout and likes if there is no system available for us to use!? How are we supposed to show how cool we are if there is no one to show it too?!"
"Need clout! Need clout!" The young Workers cheered.
"Therefore, I propose we unionize! Because unions sound cool and always seem to like put pressure on bosses to make them listen to us more!"
"Unionize! Unionize!"
"…What the hell are they yapping on about, exile?" Carla wondered, annoyed and confused.
"Uh…I'm not actually sure." Tessa shrugged. "Even as a teenager I was sheltered and isolated, so I have no clue."
"Well, whatever it is, it sounds asinine and counter-productive." Carla dismissed. "Plus I doubt they even know what a union is or how it would help them. Break them up, exile."
"Right…" Tessa sighed, as she climbed up to the platform Braidon was standing on. "H-Hey kid?"
"Oh, it's Carla's Hound." Braidon rolled his eyes at Tessa. "What do you want, human?"
"Okay, listen." Tessa spoke softly. "I know this place probably isn't as comfy or luxurious as it was back on Copper IX, but Carla is doing her best to make you guys safe and happy. If you have any complaints or needs, please let me know so I can pass them on to her."
"Phff!" Braidon scoffed. "Why should we do what that human warlord says? She's not a Drone! She doesn't understand Drone wants or Drone needs!"
"Which is why Carla and I have been working closely with Khan and the other Drone leaders on how to best accommodate your needs-" Tessa had been explaining.
"Ha! Khan!?" Braidon exclaimed. "He's obviously doing something wrong if Carla's henchmen still have free reign over our Sanctuary! Maybe it's time for a change!" He suggested. "Maybe it's time we-!"
Then J slammed down near Braidon, near enough that a flap of her large wings nearly caused the smaller Drone to fall over. She kept them deployed, making herself appear far bigger.
"I thought he was getting a bit too ambitious." Carla noted, speaking to Tessa over the secure line. "So I told J to get in there and get her hands dirty. A little bit. Ah you'll see what I mean."
"O-Oh, if it isn't Carla's other dog!" It took Braidon a second to build up his confidence, but he did, standing up to J. "You know, back home we feared you guys the most, what with all the murder and corpse spire stuff, but it turns out you're no different than us!" He accused. "Just as lost and helpless against bigger, scarier threats! And what's more!" He grinned confidently. "I know you can't kill us now! Because Carla likes us and doesn't want you to-"
J wrapped her tail around Braidon's leg, and hoisted him into the air upside-down. "It's true that Carla has ordered me not to kill you lot, but she never said anything about abusing you." J warned flatly, before she started flailing Braidon back and forth, slamming him against the ground. Not so hard as to actually damage his robot body, but just enough to make it hurt.
Braidon cried pathetically as he was flailed around, being slammed hard enough to bruise him severely if he had been human. Though Worker Drones were relatively weak, they could survive a lot of physical abuse, another feature intended by design.
The other rioters, his supporters, could only watch painfully and fearfully as a Murder Drone once again terrorized them. Even if she wasn't killing them, J still terrified them when she wanted to.
After about a minute of abuse, J dropped Braidon, then glared down at him. She stepped on his foot, putting most of her weight into it.
"No unionizing, and no rebelling. You got that toaster?" J pointed harshly, baring her fangs.
"P-Please…" Braidon pleaded. "Don't crease my Jordans…"
"Okay, listen up!" Tessa shouted to the assembled Workers. "I know that you have complaints and wants for certain luxuries, but please remember that Carla is doing everything she can to make this Sanctuary safe and comfortable for your kind! But also remember that she is not operating out of pure altruism, she expects some help in exchange for saving your lives from the innumerous threats on this world! So please! If you have any questions or concerns or wants and needs, talk to us, and we will listen! Now please disperse, and get back to work!"
With that, the assembled Workers reluctantly dispersed, keeping their heads down.
"Thanks for the backup, J." Tessa smiled appreciatively. "Although, do you really have to be so rough on the Workers?"
"Carla pays us to keep those idiots in line." J dismissed. "In the years we've been apart, I've grown to look down on them, so any restraint that I've shown has only come about recently. I still find it strange, but…" She trailed off for a second. "But I'm more motivated than ever to satisfy my master, and you. Plus…meeting those slightly smarter Workers like Uzi and Lizzy has made me appreciate them more as a whole, even if just a little bit."
"Alright J." Tessa playfully bumped into J. "Walk with me? There's a few other chores Carla has set out for us."
"Oh…y-yes boss." J smiled softly while blushing.
Central Ice Fields – Inter-Corporate Forward Operating Base / Monday, Claudius 24th, 3175
Corporate warfare was weird. While it was true that Arquebus, Balam, the RLF, and RaD were all united in fighting against the PCA (and their new allies the Junker Coyotes), they still hadn't officially hashed out a cease-fire for joint combat operations. As such, tensions were high at the former Arquebus forward operating base, now being jointly used by Balam and the RLF.
This made 621 especially valuable, since she was an independent mercenary, and owed no allegiance to any fraction other than Handler Walter. She could get any job done, regardless of opposing corporate interests.
Stray Squad and their master had arrived at the FOB the night before, having used the time to set up their hangar and getting the AC ready for operations. While the corporations still fumbled with their priorities in fighting either each other or the PCA, 621 already had work lined up.
"Got a job for you, 621." Handler Walter informed her. "The Balam Group's sent us a request."
Tunnel Sabotage – Balam / Reward 130,000 COAM
"Attention, G13 Raven!" G6 Red announce with militaristic enthusiasm. Perhaps not as intensely as G1 Michigan, but it was there. "This request comes from our affiliate, Dafeng. We will be conducting a diversionary operation to attract the PCA's attention. You are to report to the Engebret Tunnel in the Central Ice Field. It's a derelict Watchpoint, slated for restoration by the PCA in the near future. Infiltrate the tunnel, then find and destroy the sensor they're planning to repair. The objective is to distract the PCA and divert forces from their local base. Briefing over! Counting on you, G13!"
"Working as a diversion is certainly a change of pace." Ayre noted. "Still, keep an eye on Stray Squad. There will be less avenues for them to evade incoming attacks within the tunnel."
"…" 621 knew Ayre was right, so she turned to her eager squad of contentious and cute machines. "Stray Squad, we have our marching orders."
"Oh, what is it this time?" Uzi wondered.
"Balam wants us to be a distraction as we preemptively disable a planned Watchpoint, to draw out a response from the PCA." 621 explained briefly.
"Seems we're really pushing the PCA back then?" V added. "Still, we're just a distraction, not a frontline unit?"
"So it seems." 621 agreed.
"Uh…?" N raised a finger worriedly. "So on top of attacking a Watchpoint, which didn't go so well the last time we tried that, we are also intentionally antagonizing the PCA to come after us?"
"We'll be sure to exercise caution in this mission." 621 agreed. "So I'm updating your team's rules of engagement. Considering we are going up against the PCA in a dangerously confined AO, I want all of you hanging back. Wait till I'm engaged before you investigate an area. Additionally, there is a possibility you will run into low threat units that you'll be able to prosecute on your own. They won't be worth much more than a few hundred Coam each, but they're there if you want them."
"Copy that Raven! Let's get to it!" V cheered.
While Stray Squad readied up for the sortie, 621 boarded her AC, having updated the weapons again in anticipation of a mission requiring speed over firepower. Keeping the Pulse Laser blade on her left arm and shotgun in her right hand, she'd be using a Songbird dual barreled mortar on her right back mount, and a Ludlow 50mm machinegun on a reserve mount to replace her laser blade. It was an overall lighter loadout than her previous mission, so maneuverability would not be a problem.
"I don't think Dafeng appreciates your true value." Handler Walter criticized their employers for this mission. "I'll talk to them."
"…"
Tunnel Sabotage – Balam / Engebret Tunnel - Central Ice Fields / Monday, Claudius 24th, 3175
At an altitude of about a kilometer above sea level, on a plateau of snow covered mud and nestled snuggly at the base of a glacier, was the target area. An orifice clogged up with conduit that led underneath the local spaceport the PCA was using as their main base.
In fact, the refinery that 621 and Stray Squad had previously engaged was directly behind them, across a vast ice valley. Every sortie seemed to be getting them close to striking at the PCA directly.
/MAIN SYSTEM: ACTIVATING COMBAT MODE
"Commence mission." Handler Walter demanded. "Destroy the old sensor at the end of the underground tunnel. Stray Squad, hang back and let 621 take the lead. Enemy resistance is expected to be light, but there is hardly any room to maneuver."
"Copy that." V replied. It felt strange for her to be hanging back with N and Uzi, but it was far from the most egregious position. At least both her masters were concerned for her squad's safety.
"This place may be derelict, but it won't be undefended. Keep your guard up, 621." Handler Walter advised.
"…" 621 grunted, and got right to work. After a relatively short half kilometer tunnel, the cave stopped and went to a maze-like vertical drop, that brought her down half a kilometer above sea level. Stray Squad cautiously followed, prepared to stop at every juncture.
Half a kilometer down into the cave, the drop opened up into a cavern being used as a loading area for the cave. Heavy structural supports and three large elevators all likely linked to the space port directly above. One of the elevators was exclusively for twenty-one meter tall mine carts.
Guarding the area were three PCA MTs. They took notice of 621 and called in the attack.
"Code 15, unaffiliated AC!" The first MT reported.
"An attack? Why?" Another MT wondered. There was nothing valuable in the cave.
"…" The three MTs stood no chance as 621 attacked them. Gunning down the first with her submachinegun, she got close enough to shoot the second directly in the face with her shotgun, then annihilated the third with her back mounted mortars.
Jumping up to a raised platform, 621 looked down, past it and to a seemingly endless abyss. The trainline that ran under her cut off abruptly as the train tracks hung out over the abyss. In the distance, there seemed to be recent construction on small rock ledges that stood over the abyss, where remnants of the damaged train line still ran.
"Woah…" Uzi stared down precariously into the abyss. "How far down does that go?"
"…My range finder isn't getting a return. I have no idea." V muttered.
"Just hold on Uzi, I got you." N assured the little Worker on his back.
"Watch your step." Ayre warned 621. "There's a faint Coral response coming from the bottom…it must be linked to an underground vein."
"…" 621 jumped out over the abyss, gliding down to the first platform she could find. It was a recently constructed massive hydraulic support, that seemed to be trying to keep the cave from further collapsing in on itself. It was four hundred meters long, twenty meters wide, and sixty meters tall. It was both five massive hydraulic cylinders pressing against the sides of the cave (ten technically since there were hydraulic pumps at each end of the structure), as well as conduit and walkways for people and equipment to move across the chasm. Some of the equipment which was still operating, maintaining the massive structure deep in the cave.
"Hey, what are those things?" V pointed to a pair of crab shaped robots, each about the size of a small car. They were each armed with a welding torch, and seemed preoccupied with maintaining the area.
"Those are basic service robots, Stray One." Handler Walter explained. "Dumb as a sack of bricks and little threat on their own. Those two aren't armed, so 621 did not identify them as threats. Be advised that some of them will probably be lightly armed, so don't get complacent."
"So…is there a reward for destroying them?" Uzi questioned.
"Yes, but minimal, only four hundred Coam a kill." Hander Walter added. "If you want Stray Squad, go after them. It might give you something to do on this sortie."
"Okay~!" V practically sang as she stabbed the first robot crab in the face. It gave a robotic squeak and died.
N hesitated with the other crab. It might not have a human face, or even a humanoid Drone face, but the crab still had a face, several small beady eyes that stared dead ahead past the equipment ring that contained it's one robotic arm.
"Hey…" Uzi said softly. "It's okay N. These crab robots aren't even sapient. They're just service droids carrying out menial task."
"…Right." N nodded grimly and stabbed the second crab in the face, putting it down.
"Hey Raven! Let's make a deal! Let us deal with the crab robots while you go after the heavy targets! Yeah?" V suggested.
"…" 621 gave a silent confirmation response, as she dove past another hydraulic platform at an altitude of a hundred meters above sea level, ignoring the two armed and two unarmed crabs. There were another five crabs on a damaged rail line fifty meters above sea level, three armed and two unarmed, that she also ignored while she went for the hard targets past them. Two large quad-copters armed with laser rifles and a single PCA MT. Using her machinegun to shoot down the first quad-copter, 621 got close enough to catch the second with her shotgun. She then switched her left arm weapon back to a laser blade, and cut the MT down with one brutal, vertical strike.
In her wake, V and N made short work of the nine crab robots 621 had left for them. The unarmed ones were easy, since they were so focused on their work they didn't even bother trying to evade or resist their own deaths. The armed crabs were slightly more dangerous. They might have been armed with only a single laser rifle, but it was still a meter long laser rifle that would have better fit on the roof of an IFV as a turret weapon than the arms of a person. Still, the crabs were not designed for combat, so they were ponderously slow and still had their main focus on 621. As such, it was easy for the two Murder Drones to rain missiles down on the distracted crabs and kill them quickly and efficiently.
The com line sounded an alert, informing them that the contractor wanted to update them.
"G13! Come in, Raven!" G6 Red shouted calmly. "PCA ground forces are heading your way earlier than planned. Make sure they stay busy, you know what to do. Over and out!"
"…You heard him, 621. Destroy the target and get out of there." Handler Walter ordered.
While 621 cleared out the enemies in front of them, V kept her eyes open, scanning the large cavern for anything interesting.
"Hmm?" V noticed something worth mentioning. "Raven, looks like there's a large cavern behind us that we missed. I can see come PCA units in there, but it's too far to see."
"Your call 621." Handler Walter advised.
"…" 621 would rather not deal with a whole other squad on her tail. Following the waypoint V had placed, she ascended up to four hundred meters above sea level, on another hydraulic platform that connected to a cavern filled with infrastructure. Several thirty meter wide elevator lifts and a few cranes leading to a large deactivated generator 167 meters tall, and a squad of PCA MTs and an LC guarding the site.
While 621 dealt with the PCA unit, V and N eliminated a pair of crab droids opposite the cavern, on an alternate route down to the target zone.
Meanwhile, 621 engaged the squad of four PCA MTs and a laser sniper LC. Firing first with her double mortar, she destroyed one MT and seriously damaged another with the blast radius of her explosives. Moving in to close range, 621 targeted the damaged MT with her machinegun and finished it off, and executed another with a shotgun blast to the face. Switching her machinegun to her laser blade, she dodged a heavy laser bolt from the LC and cut the remaining MT in half. Then she boosted up and hovered for a second, barely dodging another laser bolt before answering back with her own artillery, obliterating the LC.
"Nice work, 621." Handler Walter praised. "And good spotting, Stray One. Now, get back on the mission."
"Yes sir!" Stray squad answered their master's master, and followed 621 down, back down into the deep cavern.
At a depth of negative fifty meters, there was another PCA patrol. Two MTs, three armed crabs, and two unarmed crabs. 621 blew past them while eliminating the MTs, leaving the crabs for Stray Squad to mop up.
"Woah ho! Easy money!" Uzi cheered. Even if the crabs were not worth much, they were still adding up to their eventual paycheck.
"Look, just two more crabs ahead! This will easy!" V cheered as she dropped down on the crabs. "Lowest body count eats a missile!"
"…Stray One! Wait!" 621 warned a second too late.
While the two crabs armed with laser rifles presented a minimal threat to V, the eight crabs waiting in an ambush position represented a significantly dire threat that V was not prepared for. Instead of being armed with laser rifles, the six of the eight crabs that dropped from the ceiling were armed with a tesla coil on their head, that started filling the air with so much static electricity that it actually created a small lighting storm at ground level.
"Ack!" Lacking the same defenses as an AC, V was quickly overwhelmed and crashed down in the center of the ten crab droids. Whatever limited intelligence that guided their actions had correctly labeled V as a threat, and so the four laser armed crabs aimed down at her…
Something 621 wasn't going to let happen. Firing on the closest crab with her shotgun, 621 obliterated the threat and then kicked the closest tesla crab out into the abyss. She scooped up V in her left hand, keeping her safe while she endured the laser barrage and absorbed the static electricity. While it was dangerous for an AC to take so much energy, it had a much higher resistance than V, so kept functioning easily while 621 kept fighting. Jumping up and back out of the cloud of static electricity, 621 fired her mortars at the rear of the group, knocking out almost half of the crabs with the large explosive rounds. While keeping V safe in her hand, she fired her shotgun twice more, destroying the remaining laser armed crabs, and finished off the last few crabs with another pair of mortar rounds.
"V?! Are you okay!?" N worriedly flew down, landing on 621's Core.
"Talk to us V?! Are you alright?!" Uzi added, screeching in fear.
"Ugh…" V groaned. "Okay…that was stupid of me."
"Be cautious, Stray One." Handler Walter warned. "Even low level threats like those crab droids can be dangerous if you don't take them seriously."
"Y-Yes sir." V nodded a bit shamefully. "Raven…?"
"Eyes open, Setara mali." 621 advised. "Always open."
"Yes Raven." V half smiled, half frowned up at her master.
"If Stray One is good to continue, get back on track." Handler Walter ordered. "The target should be just below."
"Copy!" Stray Squad answered, a bit more cautious now.
621 walked to the edge of the platform the crabs had ambushed V from, and from a depth of negative two hundred meters, easily spotted the target.
"There it is." Handler Walter pointed out. It was kind of obvious though since the PCA had set up a pulse armor energy shield generator around the target, so it made sense that it would be inside the giant glowing blue-green bubble. "It's protected by a basic shield. Just hit it from the inside."
Upon closer inspection, it was apparent that the entire target area was damaged, with shattered concrete and rubble strewn about. The target itself was a weak spot on the side of one of the previously mentioned giant 167 meter tall generators, that exposed some of the conduit for the electromagnetic assembly of the generator. Yet even damaged, fallen through the floor at a depth of half a kilometer below sea level, and with three-quarters of it's energy lines cut, the generator was still functional, half sunk into a pool of Coral contaminated water.
There wasn't much to be done really. 621 dropped down inside the pulse armor shield, aimed at the exposed weak spot on the generator, and fired a shotgun blast into it. The large generator started exploding as the oversized pellets from a fortieth gauge shotgun shell tore it apart from the inside, and it stopped dead.
"Target destroyed. Mission accomplished." Handler Walter announced. 621 turned away from the target-
"…Raven, wait. The Coral response is getting stronger!" Ayre warned. 621 looked back at the contaminated water, seeing the Coral surge up into the cavern, firefly threads that twisted and boiled.
"…!" Ah…shit.
"Raven!" Uzi, V, and N all worriedly screamed.
"-Evacuate!" 621 ordered, jumping towards a nearby vertical catapult, launching herself out of the cavern the target had been in.
Just in time too, as the Coral surged and burned in blistering waves behind her, permeating her AC. Fortunately not as much as it had back at Watchpoint Delta, but still, the air glowed with sparks and whisps of Coral, slowly burning the armor of the AC.
"Ack!" N cried out.
"No! Too hot!" Uzi winced, holding on tightly to N.
"Raven!" V screamed out.
621 was quick to collect her Strays, scooping them up in her left hand. While she worried for their health as the air literally melted around them, there was one positive outcome.
/CORAL INTERFERENCE DETECTION
/WARNING: EN ANOMALY
While being caught up in the Coral surge was bad, the AC's generator was overclocked by the excess energy, meaning she currently had a near infinite energy reserve. Prioritizing the safety of her squad, 621 opened her assault-booster, and rocketed up out of the cave.
"A Coral surge!?" Handler Walter exclaimed. "That shouldn't have been enough to-621! Pull out! Now!"
"…" Even as she started to boil inside her cockpit, 621 kept focused, flying back the way she came. A squad of three PCA MTs tried to intercept her, but she rocketed past them, focused on evasion.
"Code 23, attending scene…what the?!" The PCA Squad were distracted as the entire cavern started glowing in Coral red.
Then, a kilometer closer to freedom, something unexpected happened. A massive geyser of Coral exploded from the depths of the abyss far below, blocking 621's escape route like a solid wall of lava.
"Ah crap! Crap! Crap!" N allowed himself to curse a little.
"Raven! Get us out of here!" Uzi begged.
"T-Too hot! Too hot!" V complained, holding on desperately to N, Uzi, and 621's AC.
"Don't touch the Coral current, your armor can't take it!" Handler Walter warned. "And the Strays won't survive either! Get them out of there!"
Another Squad of pissed off, fanatical PCA troops blocked her path.
"Code 15, target AC spotted! Is this who's responsible?!" The demanded.
"G13 Raven!" G6 Red demanded. "What's going on?! What was that tremor? Report your stat-"
"We can answer that later. Get out now, 621!" Hander Walter cut off the contractor, trying to keep 621 from being distracted.
Not that that made 621's job any easier. The first loading cavern came into sight, but was cut off by another pair of Coral geysers that rocketed up from the abyss, burning the air around them. 621 had to thread through the burning lances of pure energy as she neared the exit.
"First the other Watchpoint, now this…" Handler Walter whispered to himself. "Things are moving faster than expected…"
"You have to hurry Raven!" Ayre warned. "The Activated Coral is eating through your armor!"
/WARNING: AP AT 50%
621 got back to the cavern filled with elevators, only to find another PCA Squad of MTs and an LC blocking her path.
"Code 31C! What's the System's verdict?!" One PCA member demanded.
"'Proceed'…?!" Another PCA member answered in surprise. "How, exactly?!"
"…" 621 used the distraction by the PCA's indecision to her advantage. She shot one MT in the face with her shotgun, kicked the cockpit block of a second MT, crushing the pilot, and lastly, stopped just long enough to send two mortar rounds down the throat of the LC, blasting it out of her way. She didn't stop to finish of the squad, and flew past them, towards the vertical maze leading to the exit.
"You're almost to ground level." Ayre assured her. "Hurry Raven! Stray Squad won't last much longer!"
"…" 621 focused, even as sweat poured down her face, almost blinding her in the cockpit.
"Straight up!" Ayre assured her, and 621 followed through, flying up through the maze-like pattern of drops and turns. "The Coral's coming!"
621 came out of the maze of rock and conduit, at the drop off where the half-kilometer tunnel led to the exit.
"621! Don't fall behind!" Handler Walter demanded.
"…!" With the last stretch just in front, 621 reengaged the assault-booster, scrambling to exit the tunnel. Geysers of burning Coral exploding just over head…reaching out…
There was a brilliant flash that almost blinded 621. She gasped and stopped, then settled as she realized she'd made it out of the tunnel, mostly intact.
"You made it…somehow." Handler Walter sighed in relief. In her wake, geysers of Coral were still roaring, boiling everything within the AO that they had just exited. "What's the status of Stray Squad?"
"…" 621 looked down at her left hand. The three little androids she'd sworn to protect had definitely seen better days. They looked exhausted, and a bit scorched. But with the air no longer burning around them, they uncurled their strained limbs, and looked up at her.
"Holy shit." Uzi steadied her "breathing", just trying to calm herself down. "I can't believe we survived that."
"I…" N held his head in his hands, grimacing painfully. "I hate surprises."
"Oh…t-thank you Raven." V smiled up appreciatively, giving a pained smiled. "You've saved us…yet again."
"Stray Squad are alive." 621 reported to her master.
"…This job's finished." Handler Walter sighed, satisfied with her answer. "Head back and rest, 621. You and the Strays both need that, especially after today."
"…One misstep and that Coral surge would have swallowed you and the Strays whole…" Ayre noted solemnly. "Raven…must you always put your life, and the lives of your squad on the line?"
"…That's the job…" 621 whispered. "…Peaches…"
Author's Note: Things are going pretty terrible at home. I've lost my only friend. They're fine and all...but they're being a real dick. I might have to end up moving again...
The only good thing about that is it's giving me plenty of angst to add to this story. Anyway enough about me, I'm almost done with chapter 38. Not sure how it ended up almost as long as chapter 37, but those two will be a nice little arc. Kinda like 30/31, but with less fighting and more talking.
For citation, the intro is somewhere in the 6th season of The Expanse. Marco Inaros is such a funny character. He's like an evil Martin Luther King Jr., but with a murder boner because Holden was fucking his ex-girlfriend. I swear that's like half the reason he becomes a threat.
That's all I've got for now. Hopefully chapter 39 goes quickly since there is no real fighting planned there, just some very important developments!
So stay tuned mi beratnas, and abide with Rubicon!
To magenta skelter: Every time I say to myself "I know, I'll read your story now" it disappears. I haven't read it yet but I am going to try to, especially since the premise seems as crazy as you make it sound. As for that other story of yours...well...I will never admit to reading smut publicly, but I encourage you to write whatever depraved passion that you can imagine.