Book 4: Chapter 177: Track not included

Book 4: Chapter 177: Track not included

USD: A moment later

Location: Meltisar, Groundside, Rogue Ertan NAI Targets secret bunker

Do you have some sort of phobia or something? Thea asked sharply before pointing to a ladder in the corner of the shaft. Elis grunted and turned to look at the NAI with disbelief.

Youre kidding, right? Elis said.

Without waiting any longer, Elis moved to the edge of the shaft. We fell further before.

Itll be rock instead of trees and dirt. Thea hissed at her.

Do you want me to carry you down, princess? Elis quipped.

Wrong NAI for that. And I dont need your help. Thea shot back.

Elis turned away and jumped. Her suit headlights dug into the darkness as the slightly burnt air raced past her. Her suit once again flipped to free-fall mode and began to blink an alarmed negative altitude and crash warning.The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

Elis focused on the elevator doors as she flashed by them. The moment she reached the next to the last one, she reached out with her heavy gauntlets. Metal fingertips scraped into the metal and rock surrounding her. Sparks and screeching filled the air, but the effect was an appreciable breaking of her eight story fall.

Just as she reached the bottom, a heavy shove translated into a lateral surge of momentum, and she turned the crash into a roll forward.

Gunfire immediately erupted, small caliber bullets plinking off of her armor like a light rain. Her suits automatic defense suite flipped to anti-rocket mode, and a laser popped out to slice two anti-armor rockets in half before they reached her. The chamber was just as massive as had been indicated on the mini map.

Elis surged forward to duck behind a large piece of emplaced metal machinery just as a heavy caliber machine gun opened fire on her previous position. The heavy bullets left a stream of tracers and shrapnel ricocheting in every direction, but none of the debris was a danger to her suits armor.

Her suit had already determined the locations of the heavier emplacements, and she authorized a proper response. Eight holes on her suits backpack opened up at once, and a rapid series of pops launched eight small projectiles straight up into the air.

The small homing rockets gyroed toward their destination before their small engines flared to light with a flash of fire. A hostile point defense turret tried to bring a spray of tracers on target, but only managed to cut one rocket down the rest went into evasive spirals.

All six of the detected weapon emplacements, including the point defense turret, exploded at nearly the same time. Her suits acoustics picked up screams and shouts from the defenders, and Elis stepped out of her cover and back into a stream of small arms fire.

Accurate bursts from her assault rifle silenced the attempt at suppressive fire quickly. She spotted two women trying to set up a new machine gun emplacement, but a concentrated blast from her energy shotgun obliterated the position in an explosive display of heavy firepower.

Elis winced. It was unlikely the duo had any chance of surviving that. That all the NAIs defenders were female lit a burning anger inside of her. She didnt know the details, but her suspicions on what the NAI had been doing here were screaming at her. It was enough to make her question if what she was doing, helping Tia, was the right thing.

If NAIs could abuse their power like this, what could people do to restrain them?

Stop daydreaming! Thea screamed from just behind her. Caught in a pivot to turn toward her companion, a cloud of blue nanites flowed right around Elis suit before a railgun cracked, the sonic boom shaking the entire cavern.

A projectile drilled into the nanite cloud savagely, and dead metal particles spewed away in a spray of fire and sparks. The projectiles energy dumped itself into the mass but was not forestalled. Nanites hardened just enough to change the trajectory slightly. The bolt of metal still glanced into her thigh armor, digging a deep gouge in the metal before passing by and burying itself into a wall.

Theas reply crackled over her helmet comm. Im tracking him through a NAI signal!

Thats terribly convenient. Elis muttered.

Every NAI gives off a signal, and its generally detectable unless the NAI is a much higher rank than the one listening for it. Im a Chi now, so I can even hear Big Blue, now.

Elis filed away the tidbit for later consideration. All she really needed to know was that Thea had them going in the right direction. The tunnels height shrunk with its width at each branch and a low hanging rock nearly clipped her on the head.

This is getting a bit tight! Elis complained.

Before Thea could reply, a second low overhang came into view; this one she wouldnt pass under. Elis jumped up and moved back, sliding off the top of the tank to barely snag the rear of the vehicle. Hanging on the back of it like a tick, Elis grappled with staying attached without her magnetization.

Thea, this ride is not fun anymore! Elis shouted.

Were gaining on them. Thea said flatly. Not much I can do to help you right now.

Ahead of them, light spilled from a larger chamber. There was no time for Elis to feel relief or move back on top of the vehicle, because the ceiling explodes from a chain of pre-set explosives. Chunks of rock began to fall towards their path. The hover tanks engine revved up higher, and Elis could feel her dangling legs angle upward as she maintained her clamp on the tanks rear shock bar.

If we are buried alive, I will hold you personally responsible! Elis yelled.

Thea laughed, Ill dig you out, dont worry.

Little red dots appeared on Elis HUD. She couldnt let go of the tank to aim with her rifle or shotgun, but dozens of little blue dots buzzed overhead, and she didnt need to. A miniature storm of dogfighting drones engaged above them, dancing between falling rocks and letting off streams of small caliber bullets at each other.

Several hostile drones made attack runs on her and the vehicle, but the small rounds ricocheted off harmlessly. Elis cursed as a rocket motor suddenly lit off and sent its warhead straight toward them from behind.

Her shoulder mounted laser popped up, levering itself to aim over her back and sliced the missile in half, sending an explosive spray of shrapnel flying forward to pepper her and the back of the hover tank. The point defense weapon sliced the drone that had launched it in half just in case, then held fire. She didnt want to waste her heat sink capacity on the regular drones; it was only the rockets that were a real threat.

Small turrets on the tank had no compelling reason to do the same. The small caliber pop-up turrets began blaring out a staccato of tracers to join the dogfighting drones above.

Suddenly the tank yawed, threatening Elis grip; her feet dragged across rock as they narrowly avoided being crushed by a cave-in twice the size of the vehicle. Rock shards pelted their vehicle and her suit, adding to a plinking rain.

Did I mention this mission is FUBAR! Elis shouted.

Twice! Thea shot back before sending them into another strafing dodge, avoiding another collapsing rock. The safe area for the drones to dog-fight in shrunk and the hostile drones finally lost out completely. The gunfire ceased, but their wild zig and zagging continued as they rushed for the exit on the other side of the chamber.

Elis half expected the tunnel to explode, instead they were greeted by a large boulder falling towards the entrance. That was almost comical; until the tanks turret opened fire and the energy bolt slagged the rock and caused it to super-heat fast enough that it simply exploded into a massive cloud. They ploughed through the rocky mess and into the tunnel.

Did you say we were close? Elis asked.

Should be just around one of these corners! Thea huffed, obviously annoyed by the chase as well.