by Isaac Hooke
“You know, I’m certain these Banthar could have dropped some sort of bomb to level the entire area,” Eric said. “Given their technological capabilities, they very likely have something on par with the cluster bombs of Earth militaries.”
“Well, we don’t know their motivations,” Slate said. “They’re aliens, after all. Their behaviors will make them seem crazy to us. Maybe this colony world of theirs isn’t well armed, or something.”
“I think they want to capture us alive,” Eric said.
“Really…” Slate said dubiously. “They’re sure firing those energy beams eagerly at us!”
“No, I think Scorpion is right,” Frogger said. “They could have killed us with a bigger explosive yield right at the start. They want us with our AI cores active. This is their way of herding us, wearing us down. There’s no other explanation for why we’re still alive.”
“Not sure it’s the best idea to let these Banthar capture us alive,” Slate said. “How about we make a pact. Agree to shoot each other in the AI cores if capture seems imminent.”
“No thanks,” Eagleeye said. “But feel free to shoot yourself in the AI core whenever you feel the urge.”
“Yeah, okay,” Slate said. “You can take that comment and shove it up your ass crack subroutine.”
“Don’t have a subroutine like that,” Eagleeye said.
“You will when I’m through with you,” Slate said.
Ahead, the upper boughs creaked and snapped as the airship made another appearance. Eric swerved his group away from the inevitable drop of alien tanks. More red dots appeared on the overhead map so that the enemies were coming at them from three different sides.
He studied the map for a moment as he ran, and had an idea. He amped up his transmission capabilities to the max.
“Sarge, do you read?” Eric tried.
“I got you,” Marlborough said.
“The Dragonworms,” Eric said.
Marlborough didn’t answer immediately.
“The Dragonworms?” Slate said. “That supposed to be some code word?”
“No, I get what Scorp is saying, and he’s right,” Brontosaurus said. “If we can rouse the sleeping Dragonworms we encountered earlier, they’ll attack everything in sight. We might be able to get away in the confusion.”
“Yeah man, if the freakin’ Dragonworgs or whatever you call them don’t smash us into spare parts first!” Slate said. “How do we know they’re not programmed to ignore Banthar units? Hell, the Dragonworgs are probably under their control.”
“I hate to say it, but Slate’s right,” Traps transmitted. “We already concluded the Dragonworms were bioweapons of some kind: they’re wearing helmets, after all. And are equipped with organic lasers.”
“If they were under control of the Banthar, they would have closed on our position and attacked already,” Dunnigan said. “They might have once been Banthar bioweapons, but they probably escaped at least a generation ago. They’re obviously wild, and not domesticated.”
“They couldn’t have escaped all that long ago, given the helmets the bigger ones wear…” Traps persisted.
“Those helmets might actually be organic, too,” Bambi said. “Formed as they developed from the larval stage.”
“Oh, well, if Bambi says so, then it must be true…” Traps said, his voice oozing sarcasm.
“At this point, it’s our best hope,” Marlborough said. “T3, lead the way to the Dragonworms! We’ll join you shortly.”
T3 was the closest to the Dragonworms at the moment, though T1 and T2 would leapfrog them shortly.
Eric turned northwest and headed toward the location where the Dragonworms were previously sighted.
The airship appeared through the canopy up ahead once more, and began to drop tanks in their path. Eric kept running this time, and rammed his alien blades Wolverine-style through the energy fields and into the tanks beyond. He tore big gashes through the armor and severed tentacles in the process. He kept running, as did the other Bolt Eaters, because more tanks continued to drop from above.
The teams moved past the attackers and into the forest beyond. Those on drag fired backward into the pursuers, while keeping their shields held protectively behind them.
Eric kept an eye on his power levels. His battery was low, but slowly creeping back up in the canopy-induced twilight. It helped that he had been using his alien blades more than any other weapon, as those blades used their own internal power source to impart their voltage damage.
The Bolt Eaters joined with the tanks and combat robots of T3 shortly thereafter, and dashed past them, into the area where the Dragonworms slept.
“Send T3 around!” Marlborough said. “Meanwhile, Bolt Eaters, move right through their ranks. Try not to harm any of the worm bastards—we need them!”
Most of the winged worms were awake by then from the commotion the Bolt Eaters had kicked up, and when the creatures saw the intruding mechs, their roars of outrage promised there was going to be hell to pay.
As the Dragonworms took to the air, letting their tails hang down, Eric weaved through the ranks, purposely not attacking any of them; the others did likewise. He let Dee control the Ravagers with him.
The Dragonworms launched weblike nets from their tails. Eric dove out of the way of one net, and sliced through another with his alien blades—he used Bullet Time so that the timing was perfect, and the sliced strands parted, flying past on either side of him.
Other creatures fired lasers from their maws, and he was careful to keep his ballistic shield oriented toward the different flying beasts as he passed. As he neared the center of the herd, which was proving massive, he discovered the larger ones waiting; they lurked there with their metallic helmets and their mandibles made of plasma, ready to strike.
“Uh,” Eric said.
“Turn due west!” Marlborough said. “Damn herd is far bigger than we thought!”
The team swiveled to the left, and moved away from that concentration of the bigger creatures, who were starting to cross their mandibles to release deadly plasma beam attacks. Trenches were dug into the ground all around Eric as he and the others zig-zagged away.
He reached the periphery of the herd, joining up with the tanks and combat robots of T3.
Distant roars echoed across the trees as the pursuing tanks reached the outskirts of the herd and drew the wrath of the Dragonworms. Overhead, the canopy parted as the airship appeared to deposit the latest round of alien technology.
Eric and the others tore past, using the alien blades to cut through any tanks that landed in their respective paths. The units of T3 mostly swerved around them, as their weaponry was incapable of penetrating the Banthar energy shields.
Before the Bolt Eaters had cleared the enemy tanks, the pursuing Dragonworms arrived. They launched those weblike nets from their tails, and the objects hit the energy shields, wrapping around them. The shields flashed repeatedly underneath the vise, and then failed entirely. The nets wrapped around the now unshielded units, and immobilized them.
“When bioweapons go bad…” Slate commented.
“Now we see what the Banthar originally engineered those nets for,” Bambi said.
The Dragonworms fired their lasers and plasma beams at the pinned units, or sometimes bit at them directly with their plasma mandibles, and ripped them apart.
Several of the Dragonworms also attacked the airship as well; they unleashed several nets in a coordinated fashion. The webs flattened against the bigger shield of the craft, and remained attached, draining it of energy. More and more of those nets impacted, until the shield failed entirely, and the nets wrapped around the main fuselage of the airship.
The Dragonworms swarmed the craft then, the smaller firing lasers from their maws, the larger the plasma beams when they crossed their mandibles.
Eric and the others kept running, letting the Dragonworms have their fun. T3 followed behind them, lagging somewhat.
The airship stopped pursuing
, as did the tanks. The Dragonworm herd had them fully occupied.
When the fighting had faded behind them, Marlborough gave the order to head south.
“Just spotted three of those small spherical scouts on our tail,” Brontosaurus said. “They’re staying back, mirroring us.”
“No doubt signaling our location to other airships in the area,” Frogger said.
“Take them down!” Marlborough ordered.
Brontosaurus and Dunnigan, on drag, attempted to shoot down the units, but the scouts took cover immediately.
Meanwhile Eric and the others continued forward. More scouts appeared through the trees on the left and right sides, mirroring the group, and when the team members tried to target any of them, the small machines darted behind trees, or scooted into the canopy.
“This isn’t going to work,” Marlborough said. “Everyone, continue moving forward, but also keep firing at the last known positions of those scouts. Keep them pinned. Once we’re two hundred meters in front, Tread, fire your black hole weapon. Multiple times, targeting each group of scouts.”
“Will do,” Tread said.
The Bolt Eaters and their support units moved forward. They kept firing at the scouts, keeping them pinned in the canopy and behind the trees where they had taken cover.
The main group reached the two hundred meter mark and waited for the tanks and support units to catch up. When they did, Marlborough said: “Now, Tread.”
Tread’s Rhino mech launched three bright smears in rapid succession. The blinding objects fanned outward, targeting each group of alien scouts. When the smears were close to the hiding places of the different units, the tears in spacetime formed, pinching reality around them.
Eric felt the incredible suction as the forest was ripped apart around those tears. He slammed his fists into the ground, securing himself as the wind became a gale, the atmosphere swirling inward from all sides. The droplets of snowmelt from overhead curled backward, forming sideways streams.
The enemy scouts tried to resist, but they were slowly drawn from behind cover and toward the black holes.
“Well at least these smaller suckers don’t have inertialess drives!” Eagleeye commented.
“Obviously they haven’t miniaturized the tech yet,” Frogger said.
“Fire!” Marlborough said.
The team members opened fire on the scouts now that they were exposed; when hit, the machines stopped resisting the pull from the black holes and plunged inside rapidly.
“Tread, leave the furthest black hole intact, but get rid of the other two!” Marlborough ordered when the last of the scouts were gone.
Tread launched dispersion bolts, and the two closest holes winked out, leaving behind spherical areas of cleared forest, including large craters where the ground had been devoured. The forces assailing the party diminished.
“Want me to close the last hole?” Tread asked.
“No, give the Banthar something to do!” Marlborough said. “And it’s something else to distract the scouts that are no doubt still coming. Now move, you pussy-haired bastards! If ever there was a time for expedience, it’s now!”
23
The Bolt Eaters trudged as fast as they were able from the black hole. Like the other mechs, Eric was able to stand, and made his way slowly away from the gravitational forces drawing him backward.
“Did Sarge just say we all have hairy pussies?” Slate asked.
“No, just you!” Eagleeye answered. “His exact words were fairy pussy!”
“You’re a fairy!” Slate said.
“Move!” Marlborough repeated.
Eric grabbed onto a tree for leverage, and continued onward. Beside him, a tank moved past, its lower profile seeming less affected by the pull, considering that the gale force winds around them were also a factor. Savages clung to its hull.
Those winds seemed to increase slightly, and Eric decided to slam his arms into the ground as he went, chewing it up with his fists; it allowed him to move faster.
More of the alien scouts appeared, but they were immediately sucked past by the gale, toward the hole.
“It’s getting too strong,” Dickson said.
“Fire a dispersion bolt, Tread,” Marlborough ordered.
Tread fired a bolt behind him, and a moment later the pull diminished. Eric was able to scramble to his feet, and he hurried onward.
Soon the winds were little more than a breeze, and the party was able to make good time away from the black hole. Brontosaurus and Dunnigan, on drag, kept an eye on the rear, where the Bolt Eaters and support units left a visible trail in their wake.
“Eagleeye, send the Ravens forward!” Marlborough ordered.
Eagleeye dispatched the Ravens; Marlborough kept the Bolt Eaters marching, deciding not to wait for the drones to clear the area first because he didn’t want to slow down.
Alien scouts were detected several more times at first, and the team members took cover immediately. They watched from their hiding places as the metallic spheres rushed past, heading into the forest toward the black hole location, where the Bolt Eaters were last spotted by the enemy.
Moving at the pace of their slowest units—the tanks—they continued that hide and seek game for several hours, with the scouts becoming less and less frequent, until none showed up at all. By then the snowmelt raining from the canopy had dried up, and the Bolt Eaters proceeded without the endless dripping. Either the snow that had gathered above the boughs here had melted away entirely, or this particular region of the forest hadn’t seen as much snowfall as the previous.
“The Ravens are approaching the rift site,” Eagleeye announced. “So far, everything is clear.”
“We’re going to make it,” Traps said. “We are.”
“Don’t jinx us, goddamnit,” Slate said.
“I’m not,” Traps said. “I’m just offering some moral encouragement.”
“Well don’t,” Slate said. “The only moral encouragement we need is the enemy units that are no doubt on our tail. In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re leaving visible tracks behind us, what with all the crushed undergrowth and footprints in the snow.”
“We’re well aware of our predicament,” Tread said. “No need to rub it in.”
The rift site was just ahead, located in the heart of the rainforest.
“How much time until Arnold’s rift reappears?” Marlborough asked.
“According to the timer I set, the last time it appeared was three hours ago,” Dickson replied. “That means we have another three hours to go.”
“We have to sit here and defend for three hours?” Bambi said. “Why do I have a feeling these are going to be the longest three hours we’ve ever faced?”
“Halt,” Marlborough said. “Let the Ravens approach first.”
Eric switched to the POV of one of the Ravens, and watched it approach the rift site. The snow and undergrowth were trampled on the left side, indicating the trail the team had made after initially arriving and heading east.
The Ravens swept the area, and returned to Eagleeye.
“Seems clear,” Eagleeye said.
“That’s what you always say,” Slate told him. “And then usually a few seconds later we’re attacked.”
“And you’re the one who told Traps not to jinx things earlier?” Eagleeye commented.
“All right, assume defensive positions,” Marlborough said.
Eric and the others maneuvered in front of the site where the rift would form, and arranged themselves into multiple defensive rings. The Bolt Eaters formed the inner ring, the support units the outer. Eric placed the Ravagers among the outer units.
“I want you to climb the canopy, Scorpion,” Marlborough said. “Find out how close any airships are.”
Eric approached one of the trees. He put his hand onto the trunk, but then something strange happened.
A weblike netting struck his wrist, the sticky substance gluing his mech’s arm to the surface. More netting struck in rapid s
uccession, gluing the rest of his body to the trunk.
“Uh, Sarge…” Eric said.
He glanced at his rear-view video feed, but saw that the other Bolt Eaters were in no condition to help him. Webs shot down from above as he watched, pinning multiple Bolt Eaters. The robotic arms that wielded the alien blades were targeted first, gluing their wrists to their bodies, or to the ground, or to nearby trees. Some of the mechs were able to cut through the netting before it struck their hands, but oftentimes more nets came in from multiple directions, and one inevitably got through. Once the Wolverine blades were entrapped, snaring the rest of the mech was relatively easy.
Eric randomly fired his shoulder-mounted energy weapon at the canopy overhead, hoping to hit whatever was launching these webs, but then several more shot down at him, gumming up the opening to the energy cannon. More struck the muzzle of his plasma and laser weapons, and when he attempted to fire, none of the weapons worked.
“These webs emit some kind of extremely short range disruptive field that prevents the necessary photon channels from forming in our laser and plasma weapons,” Bambi said. “My guess is, it’s affecting the alien energy cannons the same way.”
“Tread, can you fire your black hole weapon?” Marlborough asked.
“Nope, it’s offline too,” Tread said. “The opening is gummed up, and it won’t fire.”
“I can still use my energy forcefield,” Traps announced.
“But that doesn’t really help you at the moment…” Dickson said.
“No, I’m still pinned down,” Traps admitted.
In moments the entire team was pinned by those nets, and their weapons disabled.
Eric realized none of the support units that surrounded the inner circle were yet trapped.
Dunnigan evidently noticed, too, because he said: “The tanks are still free, do something, Tread!”
Eric attempted to seize control of the Ravagers, who were also part of the outer circle, and currently untouched, but they weren’t responding.
“Dee, what’s going on?” Eric said. “Are you able to get control of either Ravager?”
