Gun Meister Online: Adult and Uncensored

by Noah Barnett

  "Thank god. They must be protecting something."

  The group converged, and Charlie glanced around the corner. Two blocks down was a circular structure which immediately made it unique. Six huge coolant tanks sat behind the building. Surrounding the building was a flat plaza, with little more than statues for cover. Four heavy turrets continuously scanned the approach while a dozen Roth squads hunkered behind armored pillboxes.

  "By Custer's beard, we may have found their power facility," Monty exclaimed excitedly.

  Charlie had no idea how far into the city they'd come, but the heavy security certainly gave it away. To be honest, he had gotten lost quickly in the maze, so he hoped command could figure out where he was.

  "Let me call it in," he said and used his chin to activate the command channel.

  "Command."

  "Go ahead, Misfit One." A sweet and sultry voice acknowledged.

  He drew in a breath and reported. "We located the power facility two blocks north of my position." Charlie's statement was greeted with a long silence.

  "Thank you, Misfit one. We have alerted all nearby squads to converge on your location. Secure the immediate area, and wait for reinforcements. Command, out."

  He flicked back over to the squad channel. "We wait for backup."

  "Out here?" Jen asked. They were exposed from both sides on the street, and vulnerable to anyone coming up from behind.

  "Get inside the building. We'll use the first floor to stage from."

  Remy happily slapped the door control and bounced inside. Small drab Roth scampered away as they entered the building, and Remy gleefully fired grenades into the fleeing crowd. None made it to the elevators, or the exits. Tobias glided in next, and Charlie followed in after. The first floor was a tribute hall to the Roth conquerors. Every surface was like a book written in an alien script, and Charlie hoped it wasn't a catalog of every atrocity committed during the Earth invasion.

  The armored schoolgirl skipped to an almost Earth-like elevator and touched the up arrow. While Remy waited, she withdrew a large block of C4 and added a radio detonator to it. The elevator opened to reveal a single thin Roth worker. He clutched a long knife but balked seeing the miniature Power Armor with the leering face.

  "Going up?" Remy asked, but the Roth probably didn't hear the question.

  "Be a dear and hold this for me," She said thrusting the C-4 into his four-fingered grasp. With one hand she kept the Roth inside while she pushed several buttons on the control panel. The doors closed on the wide-eyed Roth, and it started upward. Alien characters scrolled over the nearby display screen as Remy withdrew the radio detonator and clicked it. High above there was a loud explosion, and the elevator zipped past crashing into one of the subterranean floors.

  A few extra troops trickled in first as small squads, then more and more armor piled into the building. Charlie glanced around the corner once again. The Roth had dug in, and heavy beam emplacements scanned all the approaches. Even with all the players, the problem was crossing that plaza. There was no cover so the Roth would fire on them with impunity.

  "This is going to be a meat blender."

  "Then make some cover, good sir. Do not let them dictate the battlefield. Alexander the Great was fond of constructing ramparts and stone bridges to bypass the enemy defenses." Monty shook his head as he addressed Charlie.

  "We aren't crossing a moat," Charlie said with a sigh.

  "I dare say we are. The moat is made of concrete, and the water will be our blood should we cross it."

  "Well, I forgot my mixer back on Earth."

  "Sir, we are standing in all the material we need." The Confederate man said patting the wall.

  "Can we demolish the building?" Jen asked.

  "I watched the alien invasions, to catch up on recent events. Several groups collapsed buildings atop the Roth squads. Most died in the attempt, but the concept is sound." Monty admitted.

  "It might work," Charlie thought, and it was undoubtedly better than charging into the grinder.

  He turned to the reinforcements. Squads still couldn't talk to each other, so he was forced to press his suit to theirs to conduct a conversation. Thankfully almost every team had brought along some C-4. He acquired nearly twenty pounds of the stuff, and approached the short armored dwarf with his collection.

  "I can't believe I'm going to say this—but do your worst," Charlie said holding out the explosives.

  "Uhhgggmpf… I might have just creamed myself a little," Remy admitted over the radio. With twitching armored fingers, she took the bundle.

  The troops realized what was going on and quickly vacated the building. Remy whistled an out-of-key tune as she attached two groups of explosives to the bottom floor. The first was to weaken the middle supports, then blow out the side facing the power plant. Out in the street, Remy clicked the first detonator, and something inside the building shook. With a flourish, she clicked the second radio detonator, and the supports all along the north side exploded outward, but the building stood.

  "Remy…"

  "Wait for it, just wait." She interrupted holding up an armored hand.

  Slowly the entire thing started to twist. High above several connecting transit paths snapped off and crashed to the street. Like a tree in a forest, it fell in slow motion, but sadly not atop the power plant. That would have been too good to ask. Instead, it crushed a heavy turret and several pillboxes.

  "Good job Remy—" Charlie paused catching sight of the small armored figure. Remy was running metal gauntlets over the crotch of her Mark-One Power Armor.

  "I am so jilling off to that later." She murmured over comms. Charlie grabbed the back of her suit and shoved the pervert toward the Roth.

  "Squad Forward," he yelled as the assembled troops charged.

  Almost a hundred players had gathered, and all of them charged the power plant. Charlie bounded forward toward the ruin of the mega-scraper. He stayed low, picking his way through the fallen structure. Everything was covered in a thick cloud of ocher dust, and alien body parts stuck out of the rubble. Lasers from the enemy positions shot overhead, and gunfire erupted all around him. A heavy beam sliced through the wall Charlie was climbing, which collapsed under his weight. It landed atop him, and he was covered in the stone. He struggled for a few seconds to free himself, but the loose rubble closed around him like quicksand.

  “I’m stuck.” He said over the radio. Two sets of powered hands grabbed his armor and pulled. Monty and Tobias dragged him a few feet.

  “Don’t dally, friend. The others are getting ahead of us, and they’ll have all the fun.” Monty said moving into the next room.

  Charlie gained his feet and searched for his weapons. Elva was missing, but he found Thelma next to the pit he’d fallen into. He checked her load, then started after the squad. The green dots of other players were already intermixing with the Roth defenders. Remy’s icon was lost within the mess, but the others had stayed near him. He climbed the wall, and punched through to the top of the fallen skyscraper. The rest of his squad climbed through after him. They were in the open now, but the full battle came into view. One of the heavy emplacements fired into a group of charging humans, and their armored suits melted like plastic soldiers under the cruel focus of a magnifying glass. However, there was enough going on that he could risk the jump.

  “As Tobias once said, let us descend upon our enemies.” Charlie quoted. He charged across the roof in a whine of servos, and leaped into the air. In the low gravity, he flew more than twenty meters, and landed next to a red pillbox. Charlie withdrew a grenade from his chest belt and pushed it into the firing slit. There was an explosive thud followed by some interesting screeching sounds. Walking around the side, he pumped .45 ACP rounds into the lightly armored soldiers as they came out the back. Afterward, he tossed one more grenade inside before moving on.

  Monty and Tobias landed nearby, while Jennifer remained at the fallen tower. The heavy tank turned toward a cannon emplacement and fired a
t its side. His .50 caliber bullets punched into the weaker side-armor and something inside exploded. The concrete bunker blew apart in a green fireball, and pieces rained down on the nearby Roth soldiers.

  “Good show!” Monty commended sprinting forward. Charlie did his best to keep up while he reloaded his weapon.

  “Watch your left, a Roth squad is coming out of the plant,” Jen warned over comms. Three lightly armored Roth came around the corner. Monty didn’t slow, and lowered his rifle as his suit carried him into them. The long nine-inch bayonet slammed into the leaders chest. It tried to raise its laser, but Monty pulled his trigger first. A hole appeared in the soldiers back as the ball tore completely through, and the alien flopped to the ground as its spine was destroyed.

  The other two skidded to a hasty halt in surprise. Charlie leveled his tommy gun at the second soldier and held down the trigger. A dozen bullets stitched it’s front armor, knocking it backward, and making a single ragged hole. The last Roth briefly fired at Charlie. A laser skipped over his chest armor severing the bandolier, and set off a smoke grenade.

  A bullet missed Charlie’s shoulder by inches and slammed into the Roth’s head. The helmet shattered, along with the alien’s skull. The laser weapon in its hands dropped to the ground, and Charlie looked back to see Jen laying on the fallen mega-scraper. The ex-vampire had come a long way, and she’d developed into a hell of a sniper. He gave the woman a small wave, then turned back to the alien bodies.

  “Where’s your commander?” He asked. Normally a heavy traveled with in the squad. His question was answered by a massive form coming around the corner. They were scant feet apart as the Roth aimed it’s cannon at Monty. There was no way Thelma could hurt that armor, so Charlie dropped his weapon and started forward. A crystal within the Roth’s barrel began glowing red as he reached it. Charlie kicked up with his servo-enhanced legs and a blast of red energy sliced through the glass dome above and continued into space. He was blinded by the light, but managed to get his hands on the heavy weapon. To his chagrin, Charlie discovered the captain’s armor was much more advanced. The heavy Roth swung his power suit around and slammed him into the wall, but he hung on.

  “Little help?” He asked over the radio. Charlie was pulled away from the wall and dragged across the ground. He tried to dig his feet into the concrete as they wrestled for the cannon. Tobias finally came around the corner, and his barrels were still spinning as he leveled the weapon at the captain.

  “Let go, Brother.”

  Charlie did, and skidded across the dusty ground as the Gau-19b tore apart the red suit. That had been too close for his comfort, but he was glad to be alive. Charlie climbed to his feet slowly, then went over to fetch Thelma. Tobias and Monty were both grinning behind their visors.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Brother, you went hand-to-hand with a greater demon. That is a feat. I had the guidance of God and a good blade.”

  “Here, here.” Monty agreed.

  “It felt more like I was being toyed with, but these suits are pretty strong,” Charlie admitted with a returning smile. Several players rushed past them into the facility. He followed them with his eyes. Remy’s icon was already inside, so he didn’t bother messaging her.

  “Jen, are you OK there?”

  “I'm just cleaning up the remaining Roth. Do you want me to keep over-watch?” She asked.

  “Yes, let us know if they send reinforcements.”

  The plant itself was a series of six power routing stations surrounding a circular building. Roth workers scattered as they entered the central reactor room. Hexagonal objects came down from the ceiling, and blue electricity crackled between the massive capacitors. Everything was covered with a thin layer of frost except the black rubberized floor, and water vapor immediately crystallized on his visor. The containment cylinder sat in the middle of a recessed pool of blue coolant. Three catwalks crossed over the pond to the pulsing iridium plasma reactor.

  Without hesitation he fired at it, unloading Thelma on the containment cylinder, but his weapon’s rounds barely managed to scrape the ice off.

  "Tobias! We need your firepower in here."

  "I am sorry. Gadreel ran dry during the push."

  Other players tried firing on the reactor with the same results. Frost and sparks flew off, but the reactor was made of something stronger than steel. Charlie was out of C4, and his grenades were gone.

  "This can not be happening," he thought. They were so close to completing the mission.

  "Did someone call for firepower?" Monty asked coming into the reactor room.

  "Yeah, if you could find someone who can dent this bloody thing, that would be great." Charlie groused.

  "Am I the only one that can appreciate how special Grace is?" Monty asked with a weary sigh. "Of course, all of you only see an old rifle, and the has-been carrying her."

  As Monty spoke, he unlimbered the weapon and fetched the powder horn dumping a load down the barrel. Then he loaded a second and third charge. As he replaced the horn, he said, "All of you have cartridges. Grace may have her limitations, but she is the only weapon in the game that can vary her projectile velocity. Unlike her real-world equivalents, Grace is made of the finest of steel."

  He dragged a patch and Minnie-ball from his forearm satchel and sank the bullet home. Crossing the catwalk, he withdrew a percussion cap with practiced dexterity. He cocked the hammer, replaced the firing cap, and pressed the barrel to the reactor's scratched faceplate. It was like a cannon going off, and in the low gravity, Monty was thrown all the way across the coolant pond.

  A .58 caliber hole had drilled straight through the hardened titanium containment shield. Iridium plasma sprayed out both sides and the reactor started shaking. An eerie high pitched alarm sounded signaling the beginning of Ragnarok. Red and orange warning lights appeared around the room, as the hexagons above retracted into the ceiling, but the reactor only pulsed faster. The temperature in the room spiked a hundred degrees, and ice quickly turned to water. Charlie and the others hastily bounded from the chamber. Behind them, something made a loud cracking sound, but no one dared look back.

  Part of the titanium wall melted, and glowing green iridium fuel spilled into the coolant. It exploded upward against the ceiling shorting out the surge protectors. A storm of unchecked power blew all six switching stations. Every light, every console, and every turret connected to the power grid within five blocks exploded. The entire alien dome went dark, save a few dim service lights. For a second Charlie couldn't see anything until his HUD switched over to a neon green night-vision mode.

  "Misfit One, this is Command, all objectives have been met. Retreat to the dropship rendezvous. I repeat, make haste to the dropships. It's time to come home." The radio message was followed by a mission point popping up on Charlie's HUD.

  "Command says we did it. Someone else must have taken out another objective before us. We are out of this shit-hole. Get back to the dropship." Charlie ordered excitedly.

  "I am going to take a very long shower in game… and out, after this," Jen grumbled jogging forward through the darkness.

  "I'll join," Remy suggested.

  "No."

  "Think about it. We could be the first girls to do it, on Mars. Now that's an achievement."

  "Absolutely not."

  "Anyone else?" Remy asked hopefully.

  Charlie cut over the conversation before it went even more south. "Focus, and keep formation. Just because it's dark doesn't mean there isn't Roth out there. Tobias switch places with Montgomery since your dry." Charlie ordered skipping down the street. He kept his weapon swiveling in case of attack, but his worries were unfounded as they passed through the breached dome wall and out of the crater.

  They made good time skating over the Martian surface. In less than an hour the armored beetle-like dropship came into view. The crew hadn’t been idle. Surrounding the loading bay was tons of discarded equipment. Deck plating and ship consoles made a loose pile to on
e side. Hundreds of armored suits lay open in the dusty red soil. A yellow Mark-One Suit came down the ramp carrying another. He dropped the blackened armor to the ground and turned in their direction.

  "Go up to the cloning bay and exit your suit, we are dumping everything not nailed down to make it back." The technician said over the radio. Well, that explained the junkyard of parts. Charlie stomped up the deck and got into line as they filed into the airlock. It opened, and he joined the others in the large room. Naked men and women were climbing out of battle-scarred armor.

  It took him a second to remember how to exit the suit. "Get me out of this metal coffin," he called, and there was a hiss of escaping air. Cold air licked across his backside, and he pulled himself from the clammy confines. Dozens of black marks covered his armor, and Charlie was surprised by the damage. Each time the airlock opened a metallic smell like dirty pennies flooded the room.