Bubblegum Crisis Fan Fiction ❯ Black Knights, Steel Hearts ❯ Chapter 19
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Trboturtle 
Battle of the Coastal Highway -- Part 4
Anime/Manga: Bubblegum Crisis Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Mecha / Cyberpunk / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 12.27.2007 | Pages: 7 | Words: 8.0K | Visits: 635 | Status: Work In Progress
Battle of the Coastal Highway -- Part 4
Anime/Manga: Bubblegum Crisis Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Mecha / Cyberpunk / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 12.27.2007 | Pages: 7 | Words: 8.0K | Visits: 635 | Status: Work In Progress
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The Bubble Gum Crisis OVA's (which this story is based on) are copyrighted by
Artmic Inc. and Youmex, Inc. I am just borrowing the characters for a little
while for non-monetary reasons. I can be contacted at the Email address above.
Serious C&C will be accepted, out-and-out flames will result in a Boomer
or two being sent after you, once they get around to building them.
Please, enjoy my take on the Bubble Gum Crisis universe . . .
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Ch apter 19
Highway 17 - 1.5 kilometers northwest of the battle
District 6
Saturday, December 22, 2035
3:29am
"Inspector Wong?"
Daley mumbled something and opened his eyes slowly. His head throbbed, and his mouth was dry. "What?" he mumbled.
"There's a phone call for you."
Daley bleary glared at the young ADP officer. "It had better be God or someone at least as important."
"It's Inspector McNichol."
That cut through the fuzziness in Daley's brain. He stood up. "Give me the receiver," he snapped.
A receiver was quickly thrust into his hands. "Leon?"
/Daley,/ said the familiar voice. /You sound like Hell./
"I fell like hell. Where the hell are you?"
/No time for that,/ replied Leon quickly. /You've got to get the ADP out of the area, and now./
"But Leon -"
/Shut up, Daley. I don't have the time to explain fully. There are a large number of projectiles on the way down from orbit, and ground zero is right where the ADP is standing./
"But -"
/You have about three and half minutes before impact. Get everyone out of there, and do it now!/
"Inspector Wong!" shouted one of the techs. "Radar is picking up something dropping from orbit!"
Daley covered the receiver and looked at the tech. "Point of impact?"
"On its current trajectory . . . " The tech's face went pale.
Daley didn't wait for the rest, but tuned to the communications techs. "Flash Alert to all ADP units. All units are to retreat three kilometers from their current locations. Repeat until all units acknowledge."
He returned to the phone. "We're pulling back. Where the hell are you?"
He heard his partner laugh. /Right in the middle of this mess. I've got to go. Things are about to get real intense around here. Talk to you soon, Daley./ With that, the line went dead.
Daley returned the receiver to its cradle, turned and left the command center. He had a retreat to supervise.
**********
Highway 17
District 6
Saturday, December 22, 2035
3:29am
Sylia landed next to Linna. "Green and White Sabers down," she said over the common channel. She turned to make sure their Motorslaves were right there. They were, standing a dozen meters away.
Above them the helicopter pulled up and away, gaining some altitude before swinging around and hovering like a lean shark.
"Red Three and Four down," said a cool feminine voice.
"I've got four strong signals," said another voice, this one male. "Fifty meters away and holding steady. I think they're waiting for us."
"Right," said Knight One. "Can your Mecha follow your orders OK?"
"They can."
"OK. Here's what we're going to do. Change partners. Red Two and Four, Rattler One, you're the backup. Red Three, Green Saber and Mecha, you're our close combat types. White Saber, you and your Mecha with me. Backup holds them in place with gunfire, leaders hit them from the
right flank, close combat slides in from the left once targets are engaged. If you see Janie, do not become distracted - at the rate things are falling apart on this one, she could be a Boomer. Any objections?"
"A concise plan," replied Sylia, looking at Knight One.
"I leave exact tactics to my people," replied Knight One. "Let's move out."
The three teams scattered, with Sylia, the blue motorslave and Knight One running off to the right. Linna, her motorslave, and Knight Three dashed off to the left, and the other two Knights and the chopper moving directly toward the Boomers.
Because of the smoke, Sylia couldn't see much, but the readings in her helmet told her the Boomers were holding their ground near the highway's concrete guardrail. She glanced up into the night sky to see if she could see anything, but nothing looked out of place.
"Three minutes, people," said Knight One. "Backup, get the Boomer's attention. Just don't hit them - that's our job."
"You always get to do the fun stuff. We're on it." The sounds of rapid firing cannons added their voice to the night sounds.
"White Saber," said Knight One, "that cannon your Mecha is carrying, has it still got ammo?"
"It does. Enough to cover us going in."
"Good. Any ideas on how to handle our friends out there?"
Sylia thought for a second, then said, "You and I shield the Motorslave from the Boomer's attention. At the last minute, we jump out of the way and let the Motorslave hammer them while we come in at a high angle of attack."
"Sounds good to me. Ready to attack?"
Sylia felt herself respond to Knight One's challenge. "Yes."
"Break to the left in five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . . now!" Both of them cut hard to the left, with Sylia's more ponderous motorslave following half a step later. According to Sylia's sensors, the Boomers were less then forty meters away, still clustered together near the guardrail.
Sylia glanced over to her right to see where Knight One was. He was alongside her, with less then a meter separating them. Behind them by several more meters, the blue Motoslaves trailed along like an obedient dog.
The smoke ahead of them began to thin out, and suddenly she could see the four Boomers. The Boomers themselves were standing in a tight half circle near a small pile of rubble and a half-destroyed guardrail, defiantly holding their ground. They had all lost all of their human disguises during the fight, but none of them showed signs of serious damage.
The two Boomers on this side of the half circle turned toward Knight One and Sylia as they came running out of the smoke. They took several steps forward, and several sections on the chest and upper arms opened to reveal the microwave panels that made up the Boomer's heat cannon. Both mouths opened to allow the laser mounted there a clear field of fire.
"I've got the one on the right," said Knight One.
Sylia felt some sweat form on her forehead. "That leaves its partner for me then."
"You got it, White Saber. We'll break on your call to clear the way for your mecha."
"You got it."
Thirty meters now separated the two hardsuited warriors from the Boomers. Both continued to run toward the Boomers at full stride, the Typhoon several short steps behind. Twenty-five meters, now, then twenty.
Sylia read the heat cannon's power buildup on her helmet's readout. Those heat cannon should just about be ready to . . .
"Break!" she shouted, igniting her thrusters while her hardsuit's wings snapped opened. She was several meters in the air before the heat cannon's blast blazed through where she'd been standing. She heard her Typhoon opened up with its machine cannon, but she ignored it for the time being.
Instead of flying straight up, she shot off into the night sky at an angle, to avoid the searing beam of the mouth laser. She fired a series of bursts from both her own arm-mounted lasers, the bolts either striking the Boomer, of the roadway around it. There were several small explosions from the Boomer as several of the heat cannon panels were shattered by the lasers.
The Boomer staggered, the armored sections sliding back into place over the smoking reamains of the heat cannon. Sylia dropped to the roadway a dozen meters away from the wounded Cyberdroid, and opened fire again with her lasers. The Boomer slipped to the right and both beams slammed into the guardrail, boring two neat holes through the hardened concrete.
The Boomer responded by firing its mouth laser. Sylia threw herself forward to avoid the blast. She rolled to her feet, and charged the Boomer. The BU-55 responded by counter charging the white Saber, a thin double edge blade shooting out from its left forearm and locking in place.
Sylia waited until five meters separated the two before she deployed her own laser swords. She shifted to her left, then pivoted hard to her right. The mouth laser's discharge burned through the space where her head would have been. Sylia snapped fired her lasers, her target the Boomer's left knee.
One beam struck high, burning away most of the Boomer's thigh armor, but the second beam struck the knee joint dead on. It ripped through the weak armor, and melted the knee joint. Unable to support the weight, the Boomer's leg buckled, and the machine went down.
Sylia leaped in to finish the Boomer off, only to jump back to avoid the wild swing of the Boomer's blade-tipped arm. She fired her lasers in burst mode again, noting that the temperature of the laser's housings was beginning to spike into the red zone. A few more shots and the lasers will be useless!
Her shots did affect the wounded Boomer. Most of the short-range burst had struck the Boomer in and around the head. Now, the jaw hung in ruins, the mouth laser demolished. One eye was dark and dead, the other red eye glaring balefully at her. It struggled to rise, determined to complete its programing.
Sylia darted in, laser swords flashing. The first cut removed the Boomer's left arm at the elbow, She spun, and the second cut separated her opponent's head from its neck. As the Boomer's head rolled away, she slammed a spinning side kick into the now headless body. The torso crashed
to the ground, dark fluid spattering around it.
When the Boomer fell, she snapped her head around, looking for a new threat. She was in time to see Knight One deliver a final blow to his Boomer. He stabbed a thin blade through the right eye of the Boomer, twisted, and yanked the blade free. The Cyberdroid, its main CPU smashed, swayed like a drunk, then collapsed in a heap. Knight One turned, saw Sylia, and flashed her a thumbs-up signal. Sylia returned the gesture and pointed in the direction of the other two Boomers, who were now fighting Red Three and Linna.
"Let's give them a hand."
"Sounds good to me," Knight One replied. He looked around. "Where's you mecha?"
"It was right behind . . . " Sylia stared to say, but stopped when she saw the Typhoon lying near when she had left it. Smoke rose from it, and almost all the blue paint had been charred in the heat cannon's blast. The machine cannon laid next to the motorslave, its barrel twisted and blackened.
"Damn," she muttered. Back to the design board.
"Look at the bright side," said Knight One. "Mecha can be replaced easier then people. Believe me, I know."
"I know, but it doesn't make it any easier when you loose one." She turned and looked at him. "Let's get back to the business at hand."
They ran toward the other combatants. Both red three and Linna were in close with their opponents, making any shooting but point blank risky. The Boomers, for some reason, had forgone their ranged weapons, and were using built in blades and brute strength to try to overpower their opponent. Both Linna and Red Three were relying on their speed and their hardsuit's weapons to stay alive.
All four of the combatants showed signs of the intense fight. Even at this distance, Sylia could see the dents, scrapes, and scars from the blows that had already been traded amongst the combatants. The Boomer fighting Linna was missing most of its left arm, while Red Three's Boomer was missing most of its jaw.
"Knight One to all Knights. Two Boomers are down. Status, Backup Team?"
"Red Two here. Backup OK. We've got a minute, forty seconds to clear this area."
"Understood. Close combat, we're coming in."
"No need Knight One," replied the cool voice of Red Three. "We have the situation in hand. . . Now!"
Just then, the Boomer threw a hard right at Red Three's head. The Knight stepped inside, her arms coming up to trap the Boomer's arm. Or so Sylia thought.
She saw the vibroblades in each arm of Red Three's hardsuit snap into place. The Knight scissored her arms and the Boomer's twice severed arm fell to the ground. Gracefully, Red Three spun under what remain of the Boomer's arm and swung both blades into the Cyberdroid's side. A small explosion from that area of the Boomer's torso as both swords bit deep before they came free. The Knight gracefully spun again, placing herself to the right rear of the Boomer. The Boomer began to turn in the Knight's direction in a vain attempt to kill her. But the Black Knight had already dropped to one knee, and used the momentum of her spin to sever the Boomer's right leg above and below the knee.
When the Boomer began to fall, Red Three agilely flowed to her feet, crossed her arms so the vibroblades were near the sides of her helmet. She suddenly snapped her arms out at the Boomer's head. The severed head beat the rest of the Boomer to the ground by a fraction of a second.
Only after did the Boomer collapse did Sylia realize she'd was impressed. Very efficient, if a trifle overdramatic for my tastes.
She glanced at Linna's continuing battle with the last Boomer. The green Knight Saber was just ducking a wild swing from the enraged Cyberdroid. Using the momentum, Linna dove between the Boomer's legs, snapping her head to the right as she did so. The ribbon cutters sliced through the BU-55's left leg with ease. Robbed of half its mobility, the Boomer fell on its face, shattering the night air with a loud crash.
Linna rolled to her feet, turned, and fired her wire daggers into the back of the Boomer. The Boomer exploded as Linna sent a massive charge of electricity though her daggers into its damaged body.
By the time Linna retracted the daggers back into their housings, Sylia and Knight One had reach her and Red Three.
"Very nice," said Red Three to Linna.
"Thank you," replied Linna. "You're not so bad yourself. You've had some experience with the sword?"
"Yes, some. But I -"
"You can compare fighting styles later, Red Three," said Knight One, his voice business-like. "Let's find Janie, then get the hell out of here."
"We've got a minute twenty-five," said Red Two. "I'm calling in Rattler One for a pickup."
"Understood, Red Two," replied Knight One. What's the status of White and Blue teams?"
"Not good. They're out numbered and outgunned."
"But we're never outclassed," cut in Red Four.
"Can the chatter, people, and start searching."
They separated, and started searching the area. Linna found the body first. "Over here," she called out.
By the time the others reached Linna, she had lifted the body of a young girl clear of the small amount of rubble that the Boomers had been guarding. The girl's body was limp, her face was pale, and she was not breathing. She looked to be in her early teens, with long brown hair and pretty. The clothes she wore were torn and stained.
Sylia looked at her for several seconds before she turned and walked away. Have we, as a race, sunk so low as to use children to further our ambitions?
She only half listened to the conversations over the communication channel. "Red Four," said Knight One in a low growl. "Haul your ass over here now!"
"On my way!"
"We've only got a minute to get clear," said Red Two.
"I know!" snapped Knight One angrily. "But I need Red Four over here right now."
Sylia turned and looked at Knight One. He was looking down at the body, his fists clenched tightly. Are you angry because quite possibly a life has been ended, or because the plans for a new piece of equipment might have been lost? And what made her worry was the fact she wasn't sure of the answer.
Knight One's next question was like a rifle shot. "Status on White and Blue teams?"
"Four of the Boomers are down, but they can't hold them much longer. They're also BU-12s, so they've got more fire power then the Bu-55's."
"Understood. Where the hell's Red Four?"
"Right here, Boss." Red Four shouldered his way between Red Three and Knight One. He knelt next to Linna and the body. "Starting scans now."
Knight One turned to Red Three. "Go back to the landing site with Red Two. We'll be right behind you."
Red Three nodded and ran off into the night. Knight One turned to look at Red Four. "Well?"
"Just a minute," replied the kneeling Knight. After several seconds, he stood and looked at Linna. "You can put the body down, it's not going anywhere."
"Well?" asked Knight One.
"You're right Boss," he said slowly. "It's a Boomer. A BU-33S model, with no built in weapons. Looks like they reformed the features to match Janie's."
Knight One slumped his shoulders in relief. "Thank you Ni . . . Red Four. Hustle back to the chopper."
After Red Four ran off, Knight One turned to Sylia. "I think we'd better get the rest of our respective teams the hell out of the area before they end up like this poor creature." He looked back at the body of the disguised Boomer.
Sylia glanced up at the sky. She could see the bright glow from the descending debris coming closer. "And I think we'd better hurry."
**********
Priss snapped off another shot with her handcannon at the diving Boomer. The plasma beam struck the BU-12 high in the chest and ripped into the armor. After that, the shaft of energy eliminated most of the internal components it struck, then still had enough strength to punch through the Boomer's heavy duty spine and the rear armor.
The Boomer exploded thirty meters in the air, scattering a large portion of itself over a wide area. What was left fell out of the sky and shattered on the roadway fifteen meters from where Priss was standing.
"Yes!" Priss growled in triumph. "Nene, are you all right?"
"So far," replied the redhead. Once the battle had started, both Knight Sabers had switched back to the team frequency. Nene still monitored the shared channel, but both had agreed that there was too much risk in using it now. In the heat of combat, a shouted name might give these Black Knights a clue to their identity. And giving these people anything was the last thing Priss wanted to do.
"How many are there left?" asked Priss, searching the skies for her neat target.
"At least seven," replied Nene. "But they're using the surrounding buildings to mask themselves until the last minute. I'm having a hard time picking them up until they're in an attack run."
"How are our guests doing?"
Priss wasn't sure what to expect from these Black Knights when she'd been tagged with assisting them. At worse, she expected half-assed amateurs who would buckle under a Boomer onslaught. But the Black Knights had proved her wrong. Aided by their gunships, they had managed to hold the Boomers on their first attack, nailing at least three Boomers in the process. The one Priss just killed made it four.
"No one's dead yet, but we can't hold them for much longer. Blue Three has a dislocated shoulder, and White Two can't move his right arm. They're also running low on ammo. I don't -" Nene voice suddenly changed from matter of-factly to edgy. "Priss, Blue Leader is in trouble."
Priss looked the direction of where Blue Leader and Blue Two had been fighting. Twenty meters away, three of the BU-12s had closed in on the two Black Knights. Two of the Boomers were on the ground, while the third hovered ten meters in the air. One of the black and gold hardsuits was lying on the ground, unmoving. The other Black Knight was trying to fend off the two grounded BU-12s, and was being pressed hard. The closest hardsuit to the drama unfolding was hers.
Damn! I can't fire at any of them at this range without risk of hitting our `ally'! "Nene," Priss said, launching herself into a sprint toward the struggling figures. "Can you target the hovering BU-12 from your position?"
"Yes."
"Then take it out while I give Blue Leader a hand."
"Right!"
As she ran toward the uneven contest, she saw the hovering Boomer turn and point its `Bazooka' at her. She flung herself to her right, just as it fired. The 46mm shell shot through the space Priss had just vacated and slammed into the ground, exploding ten meters behind her.
Priss rolled to her feet, and continued to run toward the battle. "Sometime soon would be nice, Nene," she growled.
"You know the Pulse Striker takes time to warm up!" Nine shouted back angrily. "I'm firing now."
The airborne Boomer suddenly was knocked backwards by an unseen fist. It struggled to maintain its position in the air, but it began to shudder. Smoke began to leak out from around its joints, followed quickly by sparks as the burst of high frequency electrons began to destroy the Boomer's electrical system. A series of explosions ripped through the Boomer, and it dropped like a rock. When it struck the roadway, it exploded.
"About time," Priss muttered. She aimed her handcannon at one of the other BU-12s, but the form of Blue Leader stepped in the way. She cursed, and activated her loudspeaker. "Blue Leader, drop on the count of three! One . . . two . . . three!"
As she fired, the Black Knight dropped into a crouch. The plasma beam struck one of the Boomers in the head, swiftly decapitating it. As the dead Cyberdroid fell, Priss switched targets.
However, the third Boomer was quicker then the other two. The plasma bolt missed the now moving BU-12. Before she could fire again, the Boomer fired both its bazooka and machine gun at her, forcing her to dodge to her left. She felt the shock wave hit her as the bazooka shell exploded where she'd been standing.
She landed hard on her back on the roadway, and its unyielding surface stunned her. Her vision became blurry, and she felt the breath forcibly expelled from her lungs. She rolled onto her stomach, and force herself to her knees. Get up! her mind screamed. You want that homicidal toaster to kill you?
As she staggered to her feet, she saw the Boomer tracking her, lining up a killing shot. She brought up her hand cannon, but the movement seemed too slow, too late. Damn it! Not now!
Suddenly, a missile shot out of the night from over her head and struck the Boomer in the right torso. A bright explosion lit up the night, forcing Priss to shield her eyes. The Boomer was thrown back, its torso ripped open. Before it could regain its balance, Priss heard a sound like a buzzsaw ripping through the air above her. A series of craters opened up in the BU-12's skin, and the Boomer's left arm and both legs suddenly fell away from the body.
A large shadow suddenly flew over Priss, and she sudden realized what had saved her, or more accurately, who had saved her. Leon! You showoff! I owe you!
The helicopter pulled up into the night air, turned hard to the right, and raced back the way it came. As it passed her, she was certain that the gunner waved at her, though at that speed, she couldn't tell if it was Leon or not.
"Priss!" called out Nene. "Are you all right?"
"I am now. How are we doing?"
"The surviving Boomers have pulled back, for now, but we can't withstand another attack. We've got a fifty seconds to -"
"White Saber to all Knight Sabers," said Sylia's calm voice. "Our mission is completed. Mackie's coming in now. Knight One has already ordered his people out. You two stay together until the Knight Wing reaches you."
"Understood," said Priss. "Nene, active your locator beacon so Mackie can home in on you."
"Right. But what are you going to do?"
"Blue Leader and Blue Two need help."
"But Sylia said -"
"Don't worry. I'll just help them to their chopper and be there in plenty of time."
"Don't linger," cut in Sylia. "I want us free and clear before those things impact."
"Yes Mommy," Priss replied, as she ran over to where the two Knights were.
Blue Leader was kneeling over his team mate, trying to haul the unconscious Knight to his feet. He looked up as she dashed up. "Thanks for the help," he said gruffly.
"No problem. How is he?"
"I can't tell. He's still alive, though. I've imoblized the torso and head sections of the suit so we can move him without aggravating any spinal injuries."
"Good. You get the recall signal?"
"Yep. Rattler Two is setting up for a landing a hundred meters to the rear of this position. Blue Three's is already on his way over to the landing site."
"Fine. I'll take one arm, you take the other. The sooner we get you back into the choppers, the sooner we get out of here."
"No argument. I think we've worn out our welcome here anyway."
They carried the helpless Knight toward the landing site. It was slow going as they had to skit shell craters, pieces of Boomers and small fires. Neither said anything, as both concentrated on carrying Blue Two as quickly and gently as they could.
A dark shape shot over their head, slowed, and made a half turn several dozen meters in front of them. Priss recognized it as one of the Black Knight's helicopters. It hovered in the air then dropped down and landed in front of them. As they got closer, the helicopter's gunner lifted his visor, and Priss saw it was Leon. He gave the three of them a big smile and a thumbs up signal.
Another Knight, his left arm hanging useless by his side, had already climbed onboard. He turned to wave the others on, when he tensed and pointed at something behind the trio. Priss saw Leon's face suddenly become grim, just before Nene yelled over the radio. "Priss, four Boomers coming up behind you!"
Several objects shot out of the air behind them and struck the waiting helicopter. Explosions rocked the aircraft as the tail boom disintegrated, knocking Priss and the others to the ground.
Priss struggled to her feet. This just isn't my night, is it? "Are you all right?" she asked Blue Leader.
"I'm getting too old for this shit," he growled, climbing to his feet. He glanced at the wreaked chopper. "Our ride has a small problem."
Leon! Priss took a couple of steps forward. The tail boom was gone, but the rest of the gunship looked intact. As she watched, the cockpit canopy opened, and two figures climbed out. One waved in her direction before it and the other figure moved to rescue the injured Knight from the passenger compartment.
"I've called in Rattler One and Three for an emergency pickup," said Blue Leader. "They'll be here in fifteen seconds. You better hustle to your pickup point before your ride leaves."
"Here comes a bigger problem," said Priss, pointing at the four Boomers coming out of the night sky at them. "I'd better stick around for a while."
"I've got two rounds left for my railgun, a laser, and a batch of melee weapons. You?"
Priss held up her hand cannon. "Unlimited, as long as the power pack holds out. One or two surprises if they want to get close and personal."
"Priss!" shouted Nene over the radio. "You've got twenty-five seconds to get back over here!"
"I'm staying, Nene."
"WHAT?"
"No time to talk to talk. We've got company. Tell Sylia the get the Knight Wing clear. I'll hitch a ride with the Black Knights."
"Are you insane?" Nene shouted.
"Later, Nene." Priss shut off her radio, and looked at Blue Leader. "You better carry Blue Two. I'll handle the rearguard."
The Black Knight nodded. "We'd better head over to Rattler Two and hook up with those guys first."
"Let's do it."
The Knight reached down and hauled his team mate to his feet. As fast as he could move with his burden, he started toward the wrecked helicopter. Priss fired at the attacking Boomers, forcing them to break their tight formation. As they scattered, she lined up on one of them and fired again. The Boomer exploded in midair and plummeted to the ground, and exploded again.
The other Boomers started a series of erratic maneuvers designed to rob Priss of another easy shot. She took the opportunity to back up. She glanced in the Blue Leader's direction to make sure they were all right, then refocused her attention on the Boomers.
One suddenly broke off and fired at her. A dozen bullets and several bazooka shells exploded in front of Priss, sending pieces of concrete and shrapnel flying through the air. She stepped back to avoid the explosion and fired her handcannon again. This time, her shot missed the twisting figure of the BU-12.
Priss risked a quick look behind her to check on the progress of the others. Blue Leader and his cargo were twenty meters behind her now, moving as rapidly as they could toward the downed helicopter. The helicopter's crew had managed to haul out the third Knight from the wreckage and were carrying him clear. She saw the dark shapes of two more gunships coming out of the night sky. One was descending for a landing, while the other held its altitude to cover the first.
The scream of thrusters alerted her to a new danger. Her head snapped around just in time to catch the sight of two of the Boomers descending toward her, their guns blazing.
The concrete around her was racked with explosions, bits and pieces of debris slamming into her. Her hardsuit was the only thing that shielded her from the deadly hail, but it didn't completely protect her from the multiple shock waves that accompanied the hail.
Buffeted on all sides by the sledgehammer like blows, Priss wasn't aware that she'd been knocked off her feet until she hit the roadway hard, face first. Her vision went dark as the HUD in her helmet died. She felt blood trickling down the right side of her face, mixing with her sweat. Her entire body was screaming in pain, and she felt numb.
I have to get up. Priss tried to push herself up, but pain shot through her right arm, and it buckled, dropping her onto the roadway again. The sudden fall almost caused her to lose consciousness, but she managed to hang on. I'm not going to be beaten by a bucket of bolts. I'm going to live, Damn it! She managed to push herself onto her back, and push the now useless visor up so she could see what was going on around her.
The area around her was pockmarked with craters and shattered concrete. Smoke and dust floated in the air, blanking the area with white tendrils. She herself was lying at the bottom of a large shallow shell crater, buried from the thighs down in concrete chunks. Around her, she could hear the muffled sounds of battle.
She propped herself onto her left arm, and took a moment to look herself over. The right arm was throbbing fiercely, and a look at the handcannon told her it was done for. Her legs, while as battered as the rest of her, seemed to be intact. She moved them to dislodge some of
the concrete, and they responded with only the mild pain of bruises.
The hardsuit was going to need a lot of work, though. It looked like someone had taken a sledgehammer and pounded her hardsuit. The HUD and most of the suit's power was off line, as was the power source for the handcannon. Pop's going to kill me, she thought.
Suddenly, She felt and heard something heavy land near her, off to her left. She turned her head in the direction, and gritted her teeth at the sight she saw. Boomer!
The BU-12 had landed several meters away, smoke from its thrusters swirling around it like a cape. It took several steps toward her, looking like a metal demon from a nightmare. Frozen at the sight of the Cyberdroid, part of Priss's mind noted that there seemed to be an expression of anticipation on its cold features, despite the fact this model was only remotely human.
Priss's self preservation over rode her momentary surprise. She started to push herself up with her left arm, the right arm being useless. By using her legs, she managed to push herself out of the crater. The Boomer just stood and watched her attempt to escape in silence.
As Priss tried to climb to her feet, the Boomer raised its weapon arm and pointed it at her. At this range, it couldn't miss, and with the condition her hardsuit was in, Priss knew the Boomer's fire would cut through her with ease.
She made it to one knee, and the Boomer didn't fire. She looked at it, her anger rising. It's playing with me!
"Get on with it!" she shouted at the Boomer, despite the fact it couldn't hear her. "Give it your best shot, you metallic moron!"
A large hole suddenly appeared on the right side of the Boomer's small head, just above the insect-like eye. The left side of the Boomer's insect like head exploded, spraying pieces of microcircuits, armor, and less identifiable items across the BU-12's left shoulder, arm, and the nearby roadway. A sharp thud followed the bullet by less then a heartbeat.
The morally wounded BU-12 turned in the direction the shot had come from, its mangled brain deciding the shooter was more of an immediate threat. Before it completed its turn, three more shots punched deep holes in its head, and finishing the job the first had started.
Priss could only stare as the Boomer toppled over and crashed to the ground, sending up a small cloud of dust and smoke into the already hazy air. Twin explosions in the air then attracted her attention. She looked up just in time to see the last two BU-12s fall out of the sky and crashed into the pavement. She continued to stare at the fallen bodies until she felt someone beside her. The calvary has arrived, she thought.
She turned her head slowly and saw Leon kneeling beside her. Oh great, Now I'm never going to hear the end of it. I think I preferred the Boomer - at least they don't try to hit on me! He'd removed the crash helmet, and she noticed in passing that his hair was slick with sweat. He spoke at her, but she could barely hear him. "Are you all right?" he asked.
She nodded slowly, feeling her head throb as she moved it. Leon slowly assisted her to her feet. She swayed and leaned drunkenly against him, her strength flowing out of her like a broken vessel. Unconsciousness threatened to claim her again, and she rallied her remaining strength to fight off the growing darkness.
Priss felt someone trying to pull her helmet off, and she weekly swatted away the attempt with her left arm. There was a roaring in her ears, growing in sound and intensity. She looked at Leon again, but her vision began to blur into vague shapes of light and color. She felt her legs give way, and only Leon kept her from falling. A yawing pit of blackness opened at her feet, and she dropped into it gratefully.
**********
Leon felt Priss suddenly go limp in his arms. The sudden dead weight caught him somewhat by surprise, but he had enough of a hold on her so she didn't fall. Damm it! he thought savagely. You would choose the wrong time to faint!
He heard someone behind them, and he turned to face the possible threat. He snapped the Redhawk up to point at the approaching figure, then dropped his arm as he recognized the figure as Knight One. Several other Knights were right behind him, and Leon could see the large silhouette of a hovering Rattlesnake three dozen meter behind them.
"What are you doing?" asked Knight One angrily.
Leon waved toward the limp form of Priss. "She needed help."
"We'll take care of her." Knight One looked at one of the other Knights. "How long?"
"Twenty seconds to get clear of the blast zone."
Knight One strode over to Leon. "I'll take her. Go with the other Knights, and get the hell onboard the chopper."
"Not without her."
"You can't carry her fast enough to make it in time." Knight One reached out and pulled the limp form out of Leon's arms. "Get on that chopper now," he said in a low, flat voice, "or I'll have Red Two and Three drag you onto it."
Leon nodded grimly, and started running for the Rattlesnake. The other three Knights followed. Knight One looked down at the face of the women in his arms. So young, he thought, Too young to be fighting Boomers. With that thought, he turned and starting running for the helicopter.
**********
"Priss? Come in Priss!"
Nene looked up from her communications panel at Sylia. "She's not responding."
"What about her location beacon?"
Nene shook her head. "I can't locate it. There's too much interference out there for me to lock on it."
Linna looked pale. "You don't think that maybe she's -"
"Dead?" said Sylia woodenly.
"She could be just injured," said Nene, a hint of desperation in her voice. "She might not be able to respond."
"We have to go look for her!" exclaimed Linna.
"How much time do we have left?" Sylia asked Nene.
"Fifty-five seconds before impact."
Sylia took a deep breath, and pushed the intercom button next to her. "Mackie, Get us out of here."
Nene went pale. "Sylia!"
"But Sylia...."
Sylia looked at the other two members. "We can't afford to look for her," she said slowly. "If we don't get clear now, we won't be far enough away to ride out the shock waves."
They felt the Knight Wing pick up speed as Mackie opened the throttles of the aircraft. Nene suddenly straightened and said, "Sylia, Knight One is trying to contact us," she said quickly. "There's a lot of interference from the spikes ion trails, and I'm having a hard time hearing him."
"Put him on, and try to strengthen that signal."
"Right!"
There were several seconds of silence as Nene tried to counter the large amount of interference, then a voice came over the air. //Kn . . . abers,// it said, the scratching and hissing drowning out many of words. //Thi . . . Knight One.//
"Can you do any better?" asked Linna, her voice weak and on the edge.
"I'm sorry," said Nene. "There's too much interference for me to compensate for!"
"Do the best you can, Nene," said Sylia coolly, straining to hear the words through the static.
//We . . . ve your t..m mate,// the voice continued. //She' . . . l aliv . . . in . . . ious co. ition . . . t.... her with . . . to . . . immedia . . . edical att . . . We will .ontact you . . . he can be. oved. Goo . . . k, Knight .abers, Knig.. On. out.//
"No good," said Nene angrily. "The interference is getting worse. I've now lost all contact with the Black Knights."
"Time to impact?" asked Sylia.
"Forty seconds."
"We're five kilometers from ground zero," said Mackie.
"Don't spare the horses, Mackie," said Sylia, part of her mind trying to work out the gaps in Knight One's message.
**********
"Thirty-five seconds to impact," said Red Four.
The Rattlesnake's compartment was crowded. Besides Red Team, there was Leon, Trask, an unconscious Priss, and the injured Blue Two. Most of them were sitting in reinforced jumpseats built into the craft's bulkheads, strapped in tightly in preparation to ride out the upcoming shock wave. Priss and Blue Two were strapped into collapsible stretchers built into the rear bulkhead of the compartment. Knight One and Red Two were standing in the middle of the cabin, holding on to the thick steel pipe above their heads. There wasn't much conversation - the battle and the upcoming disaster robbing them of most of their energy.
Leon sat next to Priss. Her helmet had been removed, and she looked peaceful with her hair splayed around her head. She'd been covered by a blanket, hiding most of her battered armor from sight. He reached over and touched her cheek with the back of his hand. She moaned softly, and turned her head toward the touch.
Leon kept his hand there, feeling the warmth of her cheek. I think it's time we stopped acting like children, he thought sadly, and started acting like adults.
He looked up to see Knight One looking at them. Mallory still had his visor down, and his hardsuit hid most of his body language. "How is she?" he asked.
Leon shrugged. "I can't tell. She seems to be breathing all right, and her pulse is strong."
"I've already radioed ahead for a trauma team to stand by," said the Knight. "She'll get the best care in the city, that I'll promise you."
"Twenty-five seconds to impact," said Red Four woodenly.
"Did you manage to get through to the Knight Sabers?" asked Leon.
"I think so, but with the ion interference those spikes are giving off, I don't know if they heard me."
"Can you track them?"
Knight One shook his head. "Those spikes are going off too much interference." He turned toward the cockpit. "Distance from ground zero?"
"Nine kilometers, and increasing," said a voice.
The Black Knight's leader turned to face the rest of the compartment. "All Knights, double check your belts now. Everyone sound off on my call."
Through a small porthole, Leon noticed the night sky behind them brightening. Here it comes . . .
"Nicky," said Knight One. "The countdown from ten seconds."
"Right." Red Four's voice was steady, despite the air of tension in the compartment. "Fifteen seconds . . . Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . . seven . . . six . . . five . . . four . . . three . . . "
**********
The first of the Thor spikes hit the roadway not far from the lead tractor trailer. Its speed at the time it struck the roadway was at least three times that of sound. It was also now in a state of plasma, white hot from its passage through the Earth's atmosphere. It screamed out of the sky and hit the roadway.
The blast ripped through the hardened concrete of the roadway as if it was wet paper. Most of the area surrounding the impact ceased to exist, the power of the energy released shattering the man-made substances with ease. Farther out from the blast crater, chunks of roadway the size of a man was hurled in all directions. Other, smaller, masses were sent far off into the night sky, to land several kilometers away.
The explosion lit up the night sky with a pillar of light and flame that dominated the horizon. An eye blink later, three more columns of light and flame, accompanied by the sound of a rolling thunderclap that broke windows several kilometers away, joined the first, dying pillar of destruction. More pillars of flame and fury followed, all in the small area where the battle had been fought. All vehicles, Boomers, and other signs of combat were washed away in a cleansing fire.
By the time the second wave of Thor spikes hit, the fires from the first wave were reaching into the sky, as if to welcome the second wave. More pillars of fire appeared as the second wave hit, adding to the conflagration.
In less then two minutes, a four-kilometer stretch of the Coastal Highway ceased to exist in any form. In its place, nearly two dozen craters laid there like open sores. Every building within one and a half kilometer's radius of the highway had been leveled with brutal efficiency. A kilometer beyond that, a large number of buildings were burning, adding to the eerie light that hung over the city.
**********
The Bubble Gum Crisis OVA's (which this story is based on) are copyrighted by
Artmic Inc. and Youmex, Inc. I am just borrowing the characters for a little
while for non-monetary reasons. I can be contacted at the Email address above.
Serious C&C will be accepted, out-and-out flames will result in a Boomer
or two being sent after you, once they get around to building them.
Please, enjoy my take on the Bubble Gum Crisis universe . . .
*************************************************
Ch apter 19
Highway 17 - 1.5 kilometers northwest of the battle
District 6
Saturday, December 22, 2035
3:29am
"Inspector Wong?"
Daley mumbled something and opened his eyes slowly. His head throbbed, and his mouth was dry. "What?" he mumbled.
"There's a phone call for you."
Daley bleary glared at the young ADP officer. "It had better be God or someone at least as important."
"It's Inspector McNichol."
That cut through the fuzziness in Daley's brain. He stood up. "Give me the receiver," he snapped.
A receiver was quickly thrust into his hands. "Leon?"
/Daley,/ said the familiar voice. /You sound like Hell./
"I fell like hell. Where the hell are you?"
/No time for that,/ replied Leon quickly. /You've got to get the ADP out of the area, and now./
"But Leon -"
/Shut up, Daley. I don't have the time to explain fully. There are a large number of projectiles on the way down from orbit, and ground zero is right where the ADP is standing./
"But -"
/You have about three and half minutes before impact. Get everyone out of there, and do it now!/
"Inspector Wong!" shouted one of the techs. "Radar is picking up something dropping from orbit!"
Daley covered the receiver and looked at the tech. "Point of impact?"
"On its current trajectory . . . " The tech's face went pale.
Daley didn't wait for the rest, but tuned to the communications techs. "Flash Alert to all ADP units. All units are to retreat three kilometers from their current locations. Repeat until all units acknowledge."
He returned to the phone. "We're pulling back. Where the hell are you?"
He heard his partner laugh. /Right in the middle of this mess. I've got to go. Things are about to get real intense around here. Talk to you soon, Daley./ With that, the line went dead.
Daley returned the receiver to its cradle, turned and left the command center. He had a retreat to supervise.
**********
Highway 17
District 6
Saturday, December 22, 2035
3:29am
Sylia landed next to Linna. "Green and White Sabers down," she said over the common channel. She turned to make sure their Motorslaves were right there. They were, standing a dozen meters away.
Above them the helicopter pulled up and away, gaining some altitude before swinging around and hovering like a lean shark.
"Red Three and Four down," said a cool feminine voice.
"I've got four strong signals," said another voice, this one male. "Fifty meters away and holding steady. I think they're waiting for us."
"Right," said Knight One. "Can your Mecha follow your orders OK?"
"They can."
"OK. Here's what we're going to do. Change partners. Red Two and Four, Rattler One, you're the backup. Red Three, Green Saber and Mecha, you're our close combat types. White Saber, you and your Mecha with me. Backup holds them in place with gunfire, leaders hit them from the
right flank, close combat slides in from the left once targets are engaged. If you see Janie, do not become distracted - at the rate things are falling apart on this one, she could be a Boomer. Any objections?"
"A concise plan," replied Sylia, looking at Knight One.
"I leave exact tactics to my people," replied Knight One. "Let's move out."
The three teams scattered, with Sylia, the blue motorslave and Knight One running off to the right. Linna, her motorslave, and Knight Three dashed off to the left, and the other two Knights and the chopper moving directly toward the Boomers.
Because of the smoke, Sylia couldn't see much, but the readings in her helmet told her the Boomers were holding their ground near the highway's concrete guardrail. She glanced up into the night sky to see if she could see anything, but nothing looked out of place.
"Three minutes, people," said Knight One. "Backup, get the Boomer's attention. Just don't hit them - that's our job."
"You always get to do the fun stuff. We're on it." The sounds of rapid firing cannons added their voice to the night sounds.
"White Saber," said Knight One, "that cannon your Mecha is carrying, has it still got ammo?"
"It does. Enough to cover us going in."
"Good. Any ideas on how to handle our friends out there?"
Sylia thought for a second, then said, "You and I shield the Motorslave from the Boomer's attention. At the last minute, we jump out of the way and let the Motorslave hammer them while we come in at a high angle of attack."
"Sounds good to me. Ready to attack?"
Sylia felt herself respond to Knight One's challenge. "Yes."
"Break to the left in five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . . now!" Both of them cut hard to the left, with Sylia's more ponderous motorslave following half a step later. According to Sylia's sensors, the Boomers were less then forty meters away, still clustered together near the guardrail.
Sylia glanced over to her right to see where Knight One was. He was alongside her, with less then a meter separating them. Behind them by several more meters, the blue Motoslaves trailed along like an obedient dog.
The smoke ahead of them began to thin out, and suddenly she could see the four Boomers. The Boomers themselves were standing in a tight half circle near a small pile of rubble and a half-destroyed guardrail, defiantly holding their ground. They had all lost all of their human disguises during the fight, but none of them showed signs of serious damage.
The two Boomers on this side of the half circle turned toward Knight One and Sylia as they came running out of the smoke. They took several steps forward, and several sections on the chest and upper arms opened to reveal the microwave panels that made up the Boomer's heat cannon. Both mouths opened to allow the laser mounted there a clear field of fire.
"I've got the one on the right," said Knight One.
Sylia felt some sweat form on her forehead. "That leaves its partner for me then."
"You got it, White Saber. We'll break on your call to clear the way for your mecha."
"You got it."
Thirty meters now separated the two hardsuited warriors from the Boomers. Both continued to run toward the Boomers at full stride, the Typhoon several short steps behind. Twenty-five meters, now, then twenty.
Sylia read the heat cannon's power buildup on her helmet's readout. Those heat cannon should just about be ready to . . .
"Break!" she shouted, igniting her thrusters while her hardsuit's wings snapped opened. She was several meters in the air before the heat cannon's blast blazed through where she'd been standing. She heard her Typhoon opened up with its machine cannon, but she ignored it for the time being.
Instead of flying straight up, she shot off into the night sky at an angle, to avoid the searing beam of the mouth laser. She fired a series of bursts from both her own arm-mounted lasers, the bolts either striking the Boomer, of the roadway around it. There were several small explosions from the Boomer as several of the heat cannon panels were shattered by the lasers.
The Boomer staggered, the armored sections sliding back into place over the smoking reamains of the heat cannon. Sylia dropped to the roadway a dozen meters away from the wounded Cyberdroid, and opened fire again with her lasers. The Boomer slipped to the right and both beams slammed into the guardrail, boring two neat holes through the hardened concrete.
The Boomer responded by firing its mouth laser. Sylia threw herself forward to avoid the blast. She rolled to her feet, and charged the Boomer. The BU-55 responded by counter charging the white Saber, a thin double edge blade shooting out from its left forearm and locking in place.
Sylia waited until five meters separated the two before she deployed her own laser swords. She shifted to her left, then pivoted hard to her right. The mouth laser's discharge burned through the space where her head would have been. Sylia snapped fired her lasers, her target the Boomer's left knee.
One beam struck high, burning away most of the Boomer's thigh armor, but the second beam struck the knee joint dead on. It ripped through the weak armor, and melted the knee joint. Unable to support the weight, the Boomer's leg buckled, and the machine went down.
Sylia leaped in to finish the Boomer off, only to jump back to avoid the wild swing of the Boomer's blade-tipped arm. She fired her lasers in burst mode again, noting that the temperature of the laser's housings was beginning to spike into the red zone. A few more shots and the lasers will be useless!
Her shots did affect the wounded Boomer. Most of the short-range burst had struck the Boomer in and around the head. Now, the jaw hung in ruins, the mouth laser demolished. One eye was dark and dead, the other red eye glaring balefully at her. It struggled to rise, determined to complete its programing.
Sylia darted in, laser swords flashing. The first cut removed the Boomer's left arm at the elbow, She spun, and the second cut separated her opponent's head from its neck. As the Boomer's head rolled away, she slammed a spinning side kick into the now headless body. The torso crashed
to the ground, dark fluid spattering around it.
When the Boomer fell, she snapped her head around, looking for a new threat. She was in time to see Knight One deliver a final blow to his Boomer. He stabbed a thin blade through the right eye of the Boomer, twisted, and yanked the blade free. The Cyberdroid, its main CPU smashed, swayed like a drunk, then collapsed in a heap. Knight One turned, saw Sylia, and flashed her a thumbs-up signal. Sylia returned the gesture and pointed in the direction of the other two Boomers, who were now fighting Red Three and Linna.
"Let's give them a hand."
"Sounds good to me," Knight One replied. He looked around. "Where's you mecha?"
"It was right behind . . . " Sylia stared to say, but stopped when she saw the Typhoon lying near when she had left it. Smoke rose from it, and almost all the blue paint had been charred in the heat cannon's blast. The machine cannon laid next to the motorslave, its barrel twisted and blackened.
"Damn," she muttered. Back to the design board.
"Look at the bright side," said Knight One. "Mecha can be replaced easier then people. Believe me, I know."
"I know, but it doesn't make it any easier when you loose one." She turned and looked at him. "Let's get back to the business at hand."
They ran toward the other combatants. Both red three and Linna were in close with their opponents, making any shooting but point blank risky. The Boomers, for some reason, had forgone their ranged weapons, and were using built in blades and brute strength to try to overpower their opponent. Both Linna and Red Three were relying on their speed and their hardsuit's weapons to stay alive.
All four of the combatants showed signs of the intense fight. Even at this distance, Sylia could see the dents, scrapes, and scars from the blows that had already been traded amongst the combatants. The Boomer fighting Linna was missing most of its left arm, while Red Three's Boomer was missing most of its jaw.
"Knight One to all Knights. Two Boomers are down. Status, Backup Team?"
"Red Two here. Backup OK. We've got a minute, forty seconds to clear this area."
"Understood. Close combat, we're coming in."
"No need Knight One," replied the cool voice of Red Three. "We have the situation in hand. . . Now!"
Just then, the Boomer threw a hard right at Red Three's head. The Knight stepped inside, her arms coming up to trap the Boomer's arm. Or so Sylia thought.
She saw the vibroblades in each arm of Red Three's hardsuit snap into place. The Knight scissored her arms and the Boomer's twice severed arm fell to the ground. Gracefully, Red Three spun under what remain of the Boomer's arm and swung both blades into the Cyberdroid's side. A small explosion from that area of the Boomer's torso as both swords bit deep before they came free. The Knight gracefully spun again, placing herself to the right rear of the Boomer. The Boomer began to turn in the Knight's direction in a vain attempt to kill her. But the Black Knight had already dropped to one knee, and used the momentum of her spin to sever the Boomer's right leg above and below the knee.
When the Boomer began to fall, Red Three agilely flowed to her feet, crossed her arms so the vibroblades were near the sides of her helmet. She suddenly snapped her arms out at the Boomer's head. The severed head beat the rest of the Boomer to the ground by a fraction of a second.
Only after did the Boomer collapse did Sylia realize she'd was impressed. Very efficient, if a trifle overdramatic for my tastes.
She glanced at Linna's continuing battle with the last Boomer. The green Knight Saber was just ducking a wild swing from the enraged Cyberdroid. Using the momentum, Linna dove between the Boomer's legs, snapping her head to the right as she did so. The ribbon cutters sliced through the BU-55's left leg with ease. Robbed of half its mobility, the Boomer fell on its face, shattering the night air with a loud crash.
Linna rolled to her feet, turned, and fired her wire daggers into the back of the Boomer. The Boomer exploded as Linna sent a massive charge of electricity though her daggers into its damaged body.
By the time Linna retracted the daggers back into their housings, Sylia and Knight One had reach her and Red Three.
"Very nice," said Red Three to Linna.
"Thank you," replied Linna. "You're not so bad yourself. You've had some experience with the sword?"
"Yes, some. But I -"
"You can compare fighting styles later, Red Three," said Knight One, his voice business-like. "Let's find Janie, then get the hell out of here."
"We've got a minute twenty-five," said Red Two. "I'm calling in Rattler One for a pickup."
"Understood, Red Two," replied Knight One. What's the status of White and Blue teams?"
"Not good. They're out numbered and outgunned."
"But we're never outclassed," cut in Red Four.
"Can the chatter, people, and start searching."
They separated, and started searching the area. Linna found the body first. "Over here," she called out.
By the time the others reached Linna, she had lifted the body of a young girl clear of the small amount of rubble that the Boomers had been guarding. The girl's body was limp, her face was pale, and she was not breathing. She looked to be in her early teens, with long brown hair and pretty. The clothes she wore were torn and stained.
Sylia looked at her for several seconds before she turned and walked away. Have we, as a race, sunk so low as to use children to further our ambitions?
She only half listened to the conversations over the communication channel. "Red Four," said Knight One in a low growl. "Haul your ass over here now!"
"On my way!"
"We've only got a minute to get clear," said Red Two.
"I know!" snapped Knight One angrily. "But I need Red Four over here right now."
Sylia turned and looked at Knight One. He was looking down at the body, his fists clenched tightly. Are you angry because quite possibly a life has been ended, or because the plans for a new piece of equipment might have been lost? And what made her worry was the fact she wasn't sure of the answer.
Knight One's next question was like a rifle shot. "Status on White and Blue teams?"
"Four of the Boomers are down, but they can't hold them much longer. They're also BU-12s, so they've got more fire power then the Bu-55's."
"Understood. Where the hell's Red Four?"
"Right here, Boss." Red Four shouldered his way between Red Three and Knight One. He knelt next to Linna and the body. "Starting scans now."
Knight One turned to Red Three. "Go back to the landing site with Red Two. We'll be right behind you."
Red Three nodded and ran off into the night. Knight One turned to look at Red Four. "Well?"
"Just a minute," replied the kneeling Knight. After several seconds, he stood and looked at Linna. "You can put the body down, it's not going anywhere."
"Well?" asked Knight One.
"You're right Boss," he said slowly. "It's a Boomer. A BU-33S model, with no built in weapons. Looks like they reformed the features to match Janie's."
Knight One slumped his shoulders in relief. "Thank you Ni . . . Red Four. Hustle back to the chopper."
After Red Four ran off, Knight One turned to Sylia. "I think we'd better get the rest of our respective teams the hell out of the area before they end up like this poor creature." He looked back at the body of the disguised Boomer.
Sylia glanced up at the sky. She could see the bright glow from the descending debris coming closer. "And I think we'd better hurry."
**********
Priss snapped off another shot with her handcannon at the diving Boomer. The plasma beam struck the BU-12 high in the chest and ripped into the armor. After that, the shaft of energy eliminated most of the internal components it struck, then still had enough strength to punch through the Boomer's heavy duty spine and the rear armor.
The Boomer exploded thirty meters in the air, scattering a large portion of itself over a wide area. What was left fell out of the sky and shattered on the roadway fifteen meters from where Priss was standing.
"Yes!" Priss growled in triumph. "Nene, are you all right?"
"So far," replied the redhead. Once the battle had started, both Knight Sabers had switched back to the team frequency. Nene still monitored the shared channel, but both had agreed that there was too much risk in using it now. In the heat of combat, a shouted name might give these Black Knights a clue to their identity. And giving these people anything was the last thing Priss wanted to do.
"How many are there left?" asked Priss, searching the skies for her neat target.
"At least seven," replied Nene. "But they're using the surrounding buildings to mask themselves until the last minute. I'm having a hard time picking them up until they're in an attack run."
"How are our guests doing?"
Priss wasn't sure what to expect from these Black Knights when she'd been tagged with assisting them. At worse, she expected half-assed amateurs who would buckle under a Boomer onslaught. But the Black Knights had proved her wrong. Aided by their gunships, they had managed to hold the Boomers on their first attack, nailing at least three Boomers in the process. The one Priss just killed made it four.
"No one's dead yet, but we can't hold them for much longer. Blue Three has a dislocated shoulder, and White Two can't move his right arm. They're also running low on ammo. I don't -" Nene voice suddenly changed from matter of-factly to edgy. "Priss, Blue Leader is in trouble."
Priss looked the direction of where Blue Leader and Blue Two had been fighting. Twenty meters away, three of the BU-12s had closed in on the two Black Knights. Two of the Boomers were on the ground, while the third hovered ten meters in the air. One of the black and gold hardsuits was lying on the ground, unmoving. The other Black Knight was trying to fend off the two grounded BU-12s, and was being pressed hard. The closest hardsuit to the drama unfolding was hers.
Damn! I can't fire at any of them at this range without risk of hitting our `ally'! "Nene," Priss said, launching herself into a sprint toward the struggling figures. "Can you target the hovering BU-12 from your position?"
"Yes."
"Then take it out while I give Blue Leader a hand."
"Right!"
As she ran toward the uneven contest, she saw the hovering Boomer turn and point its `Bazooka' at her. She flung herself to her right, just as it fired. The 46mm shell shot through the space Priss had just vacated and slammed into the ground, exploding ten meters behind her.
Priss rolled to her feet, and continued to run toward the battle. "Sometime soon would be nice, Nene," she growled.
"You know the Pulse Striker takes time to warm up!" Nine shouted back angrily. "I'm firing now."
The airborne Boomer suddenly was knocked backwards by an unseen fist. It struggled to maintain its position in the air, but it began to shudder. Smoke began to leak out from around its joints, followed quickly by sparks as the burst of high frequency electrons began to destroy the Boomer's electrical system. A series of explosions ripped through the Boomer, and it dropped like a rock. When it struck the roadway, it exploded.
"About time," Priss muttered. She aimed her handcannon at one of the other BU-12s, but the form of Blue Leader stepped in the way. She cursed, and activated her loudspeaker. "Blue Leader, drop on the count of three! One . . . two . . . three!"
As she fired, the Black Knight dropped into a crouch. The plasma beam struck one of the Boomers in the head, swiftly decapitating it. As the dead Cyberdroid fell, Priss switched targets.
However, the third Boomer was quicker then the other two. The plasma bolt missed the now moving BU-12. Before she could fire again, the Boomer fired both its bazooka and machine gun at her, forcing her to dodge to her left. She felt the shock wave hit her as the bazooka shell exploded where she'd been standing.
She landed hard on her back on the roadway, and its unyielding surface stunned her. Her vision became blurry, and she felt the breath forcibly expelled from her lungs. She rolled onto her stomach, and force herself to her knees. Get up! her mind screamed. You want that homicidal toaster to kill you?
As she staggered to her feet, she saw the Boomer tracking her, lining up a killing shot. She brought up her hand cannon, but the movement seemed too slow, too late. Damn it! Not now!
Suddenly, a missile shot out of the night from over her head and struck the Boomer in the right torso. A bright explosion lit up the night, forcing Priss to shield her eyes. The Boomer was thrown back, its torso ripped open. Before it could regain its balance, Priss heard a sound like a buzzsaw ripping through the air above her. A series of craters opened up in the BU-12's skin, and the Boomer's left arm and both legs suddenly fell away from the body.
A large shadow suddenly flew over Priss, and she sudden realized what had saved her, or more accurately, who had saved her. Leon! You showoff! I owe you!
The helicopter pulled up into the night air, turned hard to the right, and raced back the way it came. As it passed her, she was certain that the gunner waved at her, though at that speed, she couldn't tell if it was Leon or not.
"Priss!" called out Nene. "Are you all right?"
"I am now. How are we doing?"
"The surviving Boomers have pulled back, for now, but we can't withstand another attack. We've got a fifty seconds to -"
"White Saber to all Knight Sabers," said Sylia's calm voice. "Our mission is completed. Mackie's coming in now. Knight One has already ordered his people out. You two stay together until the Knight Wing reaches you."
"Understood," said Priss. "Nene, active your locator beacon so Mackie can home in on you."
"Right. But what are you going to do?"
"Blue Leader and Blue Two need help."
"But Sylia said -"
"Don't worry. I'll just help them to their chopper and be there in plenty of time."
"Don't linger," cut in Sylia. "I want us free and clear before those things impact."
"Yes Mommy," Priss replied, as she ran over to where the two Knights were.
Blue Leader was kneeling over his team mate, trying to haul the unconscious Knight to his feet. He looked up as she dashed up. "Thanks for the help," he said gruffly.
"No problem. How is he?"
"I can't tell. He's still alive, though. I've imoblized the torso and head sections of the suit so we can move him without aggravating any spinal injuries."
"Good. You get the recall signal?"
"Yep. Rattler Two is setting up for a landing a hundred meters to the rear of this position. Blue Three's is already on his way over to the landing site."
"Fine. I'll take one arm, you take the other. The sooner we get you back into the choppers, the sooner we get out of here."
"No argument. I think we've worn out our welcome here anyway."
They carried the helpless Knight toward the landing site. It was slow going as they had to skit shell craters, pieces of Boomers and small fires. Neither said anything, as both concentrated on carrying Blue Two as quickly and gently as they could.
A dark shape shot over their head, slowed, and made a half turn several dozen meters in front of them. Priss recognized it as one of the Black Knight's helicopters. It hovered in the air then dropped down and landed in front of them. As they got closer, the helicopter's gunner lifted his visor, and Priss saw it was Leon. He gave the three of them a big smile and a thumbs up signal.
Another Knight, his left arm hanging useless by his side, had already climbed onboard. He turned to wave the others on, when he tensed and pointed at something behind the trio. Priss saw Leon's face suddenly become grim, just before Nene yelled over the radio. "Priss, four Boomers coming up behind you!"
Several objects shot out of the air behind them and struck the waiting helicopter. Explosions rocked the aircraft as the tail boom disintegrated, knocking Priss and the others to the ground.
Priss struggled to her feet. This just isn't my night, is it? "Are you all right?" she asked Blue Leader.
"I'm getting too old for this shit," he growled, climbing to his feet. He glanced at the wreaked chopper. "Our ride has a small problem."
Leon! Priss took a couple of steps forward. The tail boom was gone, but the rest of the gunship looked intact. As she watched, the cockpit canopy opened, and two figures climbed out. One waved in her direction before it and the other figure moved to rescue the injured Knight from the passenger compartment.
"I've called in Rattler One and Three for an emergency pickup," said Blue Leader. "They'll be here in fifteen seconds. You better hustle to your pickup point before your ride leaves."
"Here comes a bigger problem," said Priss, pointing at the four Boomers coming out of the night sky at them. "I'd better stick around for a while."
"I've got two rounds left for my railgun, a laser, and a batch of melee weapons. You?"
Priss held up her hand cannon. "Unlimited, as long as the power pack holds out. One or two surprises if they want to get close and personal."
"Priss!" shouted Nene over the radio. "You've got twenty-five seconds to get back over here!"
"I'm staying, Nene."
"WHAT?"
"No time to talk to talk. We've got company. Tell Sylia the get the Knight Wing clear. I'll hitch a ride with the Black Knights."
"Are you insane?" Nene shouted.
"Later, Nene." Priss shut off her radio, and looked at Blue Leader. "You better carry Blue Two. I'll handle the rearguard."
The Black Knight nodded. "We'd better head over to Rattler Two and hook up with those guys first."
"Let's do it."
The Knight reached down and hauled his team mate to his feet. As fast as he could move with his burden, he started toward the wrecked helicopter. Priss fired at the attacking Boomers, forcing them to break their tight formation. As they scattered, she lined up on one of them and fired again. The Boomer exploded in midair and plummeted to the ground, and exploded again.
The other Boomers started a series of erratic maneuvers designed to rob Priss of another easy shot. She took the opportunity to back up. She glanced in the Blue Leader's direction to make sure they were all right, then refocused her attention on the Boomers.
One suddenly broke off and fired at her. A dozen bullets and several bazooka shells exploded in front of Priss, sending pieces of concrete and shrapnel flying through the air. She stepped back to avoid the explosion and fired her handcannon again. This time, her shot missed the twisting figure of the BU-12.
Priss risked a quick look behind her to check on the progress of the others. Blue Leader and his cargo were twenty meters behind her now, moving as rapidly as they could toward the downed helicopter. The helicopter's crew had managed to haul out the third Knight from the wreckage and were carrying him clear. She saw the dark shapes of two more gunships coming out of the night sky. One was descending for a landing, while the other held its altitude to cover the first.
The scream of thrusters alerted her to a new danger. Her head snapped around just in time to catch the sight of two of the Boomers descending toward her, their guns blazing.
The concrete around her was racked with explosions, bits and pieces of debris slamming into her. Her hardsuit was the only thing that shielded her from the deadly hail, but it didn't completely protect her from the multiple shock waves that accompanied the hail.
Buffeted on all sides by the sledgehammer like blows, Priss wasn't aware that she'd been knocked off her feet until she hit the roadway hard, face first. Her vision went dark as the HUD in her helmet died. She felt blood trickling down the right side of her face, mixing with her sweat. Her entire body was screaming in pain, and she felt numb.
I have to get up. Priss tried to push herself up, but pain shot through her right arm, and it buckled, dropping her onto the roadway again. The sudden fall almost caused her to lose consciousness, but she managed to hang on. I'm not going to be beaten by a bucket of bolts. I'm going to live, Damn it! She managed to push herself onto her back, and push the now useless visor up so she could see what was going on around her.
The area around her was pockmarked with craters and shattered concrete. Smoke and dust floated in the air, blanking the area with white tendrils. She herself was lying at the bottom of a large shallow shell crater, buried from the thighs down in concrete chunks. Around her, she could hear the muffled sounds of battle.
She propped herself onto her left arm, and took a moment to look herself over. The right arm was throbbing fiercely, and a look at the handcannon told her it was done for. Her legs, while as battered as the rest of her, seemed to be intact. She moved them to dislodge some of
the concrete, and they responded with only the mild pain of bruises.
The hardsuit was going to need a lot of work, though. It looked like someone had taken a sledgehammer and pounded her hardsuit. The HUD and most of the suit's power was off line, as was the power source for the handcannon. Pop's going to kill me, she thought.
Suddenly, She felt and heard something heavy land near her, off to her left. She turned her head in the direction, and gritted her teeth at the sight she saw. Boomer!
The BU-12 had landed several meters away, smoke from its thrusters swirling around it like a cape. It took several steps toward her, looking like a metal demon from a nightmare. Frozen at the sight of the Cyberdroid, part of Priss's mind noted that there seemed to be an expression of anticipation on its cold features, despite the fact this model was only remotely human.
Priss's self preservation over rode her momentary surprise. She started to push herself up with her left arm, the right arm being useless. By using her legs, she managed to push herself out of the crater. The Boomer just stood and watched her attempt to escape in silence.
As Priss tried to climb to her feet, the Boomer raised its weapon arm and pointed it at her. At this range, it couldn't miss, and with the condition her hardsuit was in, Priss knew the Boomer's fire would cut through her with ease.
She made it to one knee, and the Boomer didn't fire. She looked at it, her anger rising. It's playing with me!
"Get on with it!" she shouted at the Boomer, despite the fact it couldn't hear her. "Give it your best shot, you metallic moron!"
A large hole suddenly appeared on the right side of the Boomer's small head, just above the insect-like eye. The left side of the Boomer's insect like head exploded, spraying pieces of microcircuits, armor, and less identifiable items across the BU-12's left shoulder, arm, and the nearby roadway. A sharp thud followed the bullet by less then a heartbeat.
The morally wounded BU-12 turned in the direction the shot had come from, its mangled brain deciding the shooter was more of an immediate threat. Before it completed its turn, three more shots punched deep holes in its head, and finishing the job the first had started.
Priss could only stare as the Boomer toppled over and crashed to the ground, sending up a small cloud of dust and smoke into the already hazy air. Twin explosions in the air then attracted her attention. She looked up just in time to see the last two BU-12s fall out of the sky and crashed into the pavement. She continued to stare at the fallen bodies until she felt someone beside her. The calvary has arrived, she thought.
She turned her head slowly and saw Leon kneeling beside her. Oh great, Now I'm never going to hear the end of it. I think I preferred the Boomer - at least they don't try to hit on me! He'd removed the crash helmet, and she noticed in passing that his hair was slick with sweat. He spoke at her, but she could barely hear him. "Are you all right?" he asked.
She nodded slowly, feeling her head throb as she moved it. Leon slowly assisted her to her feet. She swayed and leaned drunkenly against him, her strength flowing out of her like a broken vessel. Unconsciousness threatened to claim her again, and she rallied her remaining strength to fight off the growing darkness.
Priss felt someone trying to pull her helmet off, and she weekly swatted away the attempt with her left arm. There was a roaring in her ears, growing in sound and intensity. She looked at Leon again, but her vision began to blur into vague shapes of light and color. She felt her legs give way, and only Leon kept her from falling. A yawing pit of blackness opened at her feet, and she dropped into it gratefully.
**********
Leon felt Priss suddenly go limp in his arms. The sudden dead weight caught him somewhat by surprise, but he had enough of a hold on her so she didn't fall. Damm it! he thought savagely. You would choose the wrong time to faint!
He heard someone behind them, and he turned to face the possible threat. He snapped the Redhawk up to point at the approaching figure, then dropped his arm as he recognized the figure as Knight One. Several other Knights were right behind him, and Leon could see the large silhouette of a hovering Rattlesnake three dozen meter behind them.
"What are you doing?" asked Knight One angrily.
Leon waved toward the limp form of Priss. "She needed help."
"We'll take care of her." Knight One looked at one of the other Knights. "How long?"
"Twenty seconds to get clear of the blast zone."
Knight One strode over to Leon. "I'll take her. Go with the other Knights, and get the hell onboard the chopper."
"Not without her."
"You can't carry her fast enough to make it in time." Knight One reached out and pulled the limp form out of Leon's arms. "Get on that chopper now," he said in a low, flat voice, "or I'll have Red Two and Three drag you onto it."
Leon nodded grimly, and started running for the Rattlesnake. The other three Knights followed. Knight One looked down at the face of the women in his arms. So young, he thought, Too young to be fighting Boomers. With that thought, he turned and starting running for the helicopter.
**********
"Priss? Come in Priss!"
Nene looked up from her communications panel at Sylia. "She's not responding."
"What about her location beacon?"
Nene shook her head. "I can't locate it. There's too much interference out there for me to lock on it."
Linna looked pale. "You don't think that maybe she's -"
"Dead?" said Sylia woodenly.
"She could be just injured," said Nene, a hint of desperation in her voice. "She might not be able to respond."
"We have to go look for her!" exclaimed Linna.
"How much time do we have left?" Sylia asked Nene.
"Fifty-five seconds before impact."
Sylia took a deep breath, and pushed the intercom button next to her. "Mackie, Get us out of here."
Nene went pale. "Sylia!"
"But Sylia...."
Sylia looked at the other two members. "We can't afford to look for her," she said slowly. "If we don't get clear now, we won't be far enough away to ride out the shock waves."
They felt the Knight Wing pick up speed as Mackie opened the throttles of the aircraft. Nene suddenly straightened and said, "Sylia, Knight One is trying to contact us," she said quickly. "There's a lot of interference from the spikes ion trails, and I'm having a hard time hearing him."
"Put him on, and try to strengthen that signal."
"Right!"
There were several seconds of silence as Nene tried to counter the large amount of interference, then a voice came over the air. //Kn . . . abers,// it said, the scratching and hissing drowning out many of words. //Thi . . . Knight One.//
"Can you do any better?" asked Linna, her voice weak and on the edge.
"I'm sorry," said Nene. "There's too much interference for me to compensate for!"
"Do the best you can, Nene," said Sylia coolly, straining to hear the words through the static.
//We . . . ve your t..m mate,// the voice continued. //She' . . . l aliv . . . in . . . ious co. ition . . . t.... her with . . . to . . . immedia . . . edical att . . . We will .ontact you . . . he can be. oved. Goo . . . k, Knight .abers, Knig.. On. out.//
"No good," said Nene angrily. "The interference is getting worse. I've now lost all contact with the Black Knights."
"Time to impact?" asked Sylia.
"Forty seconds."
"We're five kilometers from ground zero," said Mackie.
"Don't spare the horses, Mackie," said Sylia, part of her mind trying to work out the gaps in Knight One's message.
**********
"Thirty-five seconds to impact," said Red Four.
The Rattlesnake's compartment was crowded. Besides Red Team, there was Leon, Trask, an unconscious Priss, and the injured Blue Two. Most of them were sitting in reinforced jumpseats built into the craft's bulkheads, strapped in tightly in preparation to ride out the upcoming shock wave. Priss and Blue Two were strapped into collapsible stretchers built into the rear bulkhead of the compartment. Knight One and Red Two were standing in the middle of the cabin, holding on to the thick steel pipe above their heads. There wasn't much conversation - the battle and the upcoming disaster robbing them of most of their energy.
Leon sat next to Priss. Her helmet had been removed, and she looked peaceful with her hair splayed around her head. She'd been covered by a blanket, hiding most of her battered armor from sight. He reached over and touched her cheek with the back of his hand. She moaned softly, and turned her head toward the touch.
Leon kept his hand there, feeling the warmth of her cheek. I think it's time we stopped acting like children, he thought sadly, and started acting like adults.
He looked up to see Knight One looking at them. Mallory still had his visor down, and his hardsuit hid most of his body language. "How is she?" he asked.
Leon shrugged. "I can't tell. She seems to be breathing all right, and her pulse is strong."
"I've already radioed ahead for a trauma team to stand by," said the Knight. "She'll get the best care in the city, that I'll promise you."
"Twenty-five seconds to impact," said Red Four woodenly.
"Did you manage to get through to the Knight Sabers?" asked Leon.
"I think so, but with the ion interference those spikes are giving off, I don't know if they heard me."
"Can you track them?"
Knight One shook his head. "Those spikes are going off too much interference." He turned toward the cockpit. "Distance from ground zero?"
"Nine kilometers, and increasing," said a voice.
The Black Knight's leader turned to face the rest of the compartment. "All Knights, double check your belts now. Everyone sound off on my call."
Through a small porthole, Leon noticed the night sky behind them brightening. Here it comes . . .
"Nicky," said Knight One. "The countdown from ten seconds."
"Right." Red Four's voice was steady, despite the air of tension in the compartment. "Fifteen seconds . . . Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . . seven . . . six . . . five . . . four . . . three . . . "
**********
The first of the Thor spikes hit the roadway not far from the lead tractor trailer. Its speed at the time it struck the roadway was at least three times that of sound. It was also now in a state of plasma, white hot from its passage through the Earth's atmosphere. It screamed out of the sky and hit the roadway.
The blast ripped through the hardened concrete of the roadway as if it was wet paper. Most of the area surrounding the impact ceased to exist, the power of the energy released shattering the man-made substances with ease. Farther out from the blast crater, chunks of roadway the size of a man was hurled in all directions. Other, smaller, masses were sent far off into the night sky, to land several kilometers away.
The explosion lit up the night sky with a pillar of light and flame that dominated the horizon. An eye blink later, three more columns of light and flame, accompanied by the sound of a rolling thunderclap that broke windows several kilometers away, joined the first, dying pillar of destruction. More pillars of flame and fury followed, all in the small area where the battle had been fought. All vehicles, Boomers, and other signs of combat were washed away in a cleansing fire.
By the time the second wave of Thor spikes hit, the fires from the first wave were reaching into the sky, as if to welcome the second wave. More pillars of fire appeared as the second wave hit, adding to the conflagration.
In less then two minutes, a four-kilometer stretch of the Coastal Highway ceased to exist in any form. In its place, nearly two dozen craters laid there like open sores. Every building within one and a half kilometer's radius of the highway had been leveled with brutal efficiency. A kilometer beyond that, a large number of buildings were burning, adding to the eerie light that hung over the city.
**********