Gone But Not Forgotten (chapter 9) [FIC]
Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 12:22 pm
It was like viewing an action movie in slow motion.
Light and shadow seemed to merge. People moved. Weapons fired. Every little detail of every action was exaggerated; but, nothing came into sharp focus.
Despite the way that things seemed to him, Sousuke moved swiftly and effectively, going on instinct more than anything else. Somewhere in side him there was a will to survive. That’s what kept him going. He felt too numb to fight for some great cause or goal.
A line of bullets tore a groove in the soil, advancing towards him. He stepped aside without thought, swung his Barrett rifle around, and proceeded to put round after round into an Arastol, its gun arm tossing spent cartridges off into the darkness.
That action was repeated by many of the remaining soldiers, beset as they were by a large number of robots. The mechanical terrors had jumped down from trees… erupted out of the ground beneath well-manicured hedgerows… and run from a storage facility that had been built underneath the manor’s pool when the swimming facilities were renovated.
To the young Mithril sergeant, the destruction of his inhuman opponent brought no excitement or sense of satisfaction. If anything, the intelligent machines were a better parody of human beings than he was at the moment. Rolling, he tried to target an Amalgam sniper hiding in the shadows of the roof above Kaname’s room. Seeing a miniscule muzzle flash, he oriented on that, fired, and began moving again before the body of the enemy soldier hit the ground below.
Kaname.
Part of him kept trying to get his attention, insisting that Kaname Chidori needed to be rescued. But, those pleas fell on deaf ears, so to speak. If what he had seen was any indication, Kaname may not want to be rescued. Even with the death and destruction erupting around him at a furious pace, he couldn’t help but relive some of what he had seen before.
Leonard was standing close to Kaname, and she didn’t make an effort to move away from him, not even when he made some kind of motion with his hand near her face.
Mindlessly, he moved to change the clip on his M107. He had chosen a heavily planted area behind an old gnarled tree, out of the line of sight of the Carcosa defenders. But, that did not make him invisible, especially to the Arastols with their many means to sense human adversaries. Looking up, he almost welcomed death, seeing the flanges on the gun arm of a robot lift up as it oriented its weapon on him. A series of shots struck the robot, giving Sousuke a new lease on life.
“Come on kid, pick it up!” Captain Gordon let his rifle fall to the ground as he took out a number of white phosphorous grenade and heaved them into a dark part of the lawn.
“Affirmative.” To Sousuke, it seemed that someone else was speaking. That didn’t matter. Some of his apathy was wearing off. He was the one doing the fighting. “Down!” With metronomic precision, the young soldier placed a number of shots into an Arastol with a flame cannon on one arm, and a large fuel reservoir on its back. The robot burst into a towering pillar of flame before it could fatally burn the American special forces commando.
Leonard and his cronies had been busy. There were numerous types of Arastols streaking across the manor grounds, attacking fearlessly with a wide variety of offensive weapons. Loud explosions punctuated the cacophony of battle, as some of the damaged robots exploded like giant Claymore mines, sending steel balls whistling through the night air.
Leonard.
Sousuke clenched his teeth, a rage beginning to build inside of him. Leonard Testarossa had designed and built the robots that were killing his comrades tonight. He lost track of how many of his fellow soldiers had fallen to the ground dead or seriously wounded. The enemy had also rigged a number of clever and unexpected defensive systems throughout the property, everywhere from the front lawns to the tennis courts, sauna area, and car parks in the rear.
“A little help!” That was Sgt. Howe. In the dark, it was difficult to make out the fact that his left side was covered with blood, much of it his own. Trying to fend off a number of Arastols that were leaping from tree to tree above his head, he was at the mercy of a number of attack dogs darting towards him through holes in the damaged hedges.
Sousuke swung around his M4A1 and began to take down the first of the slavering hounds. Placing a 40mm grenade into the dense canopy of a broad full tree, he flushed a number of robots out into the open. Before he could return his attention to the dogs, a javelin ATGM flew past him, close enough for him to see a brief blur of metal pass through one of the beams of light coming from search lights.
The light went out, courtesy of commandos who had made it inside the main building. The missile detonated, sending pieces of the Arastol cartwheeling off in all directions. The battle raged on, as Sousuke ran to the next point of cover just as an unidentified Malaysian soldier hurried to help his Australian comrade.
Knocking over a number of large wrought iron sitting benches, Sousuke used them as minimal shields as he surveyed the area in front of him. Heart beating rapidly, and eyes seeking potential kill zones, he found his mind moving in two directions again. He clenched his fists, pulling up a number of blades of lush grass.
Leonard was running his hand up Kaname’s arm to her shoulder. He slid down along her body and out of sight.
He snapped out of his minor fugue. The who wrenching and aching feeling he felt in his gut might be something new, but the deadly chaos around him was not. He was in his element. Watching a number of Thai and international commandos flatten themselves against the front of Carcosa, he put down some covering fire so that they could gain entrance to the building. That done, his gaze wandered back to Kaname’s veranda. There were a number of Arastols up there, and they were drawing heavy fire. If anyone was still in that room, they would be at severe risk of injury or death.
Kaname.
Kaname. Kaname Chidori. What she had come to mean to him. Everything that he had done to find her. The hope that he had felt. The guilt that he had fought through. Was it all for naught? Was she a traitor to the cause? Had she fallen for the man that kidnapped her?
Spang spang spang spang spang spang! Metal balls from an Arastol ricocheted off of the lawn furniture, actually rocking the heavy benches. This had quickly become a fight for survival first, and a rescue mission second. Amalgam must have anticipated some kind of assault. Either that, or they were as well-prepared as always. He had no word from the forces moving in on Seri Negara. If they were meeting similar resistance, there might be no opportunity to gather important documents and computer files before the data was removed or destroyed
As bad as things were, they could easily get worse. So far, he hadn’t heard the telltale sound of ripping paper that signaled the Gatling gun of a Venom in action. Reloading his M4A1’s grenade launcher, his thoughts drifted again.
Leonard had kissed Kaname on the forehead. She hadn’t made any attempt to move away. She made no effort to strike him.
“Scheiße! Pass auf!” The frantic warning came from Master Sergeant Heinrich. “Look out!” The German braced his Panzerfaust 3 against a tree trunk riddled with bullet holes. He had caught sight of something closing in on Sousuke and the other soldiers in his vicinity.
Something new had made the scene. It was not an Arastol. It was also not an Arm Slave. It was something in between the size and effectiveness of those two weapons systems. Bipedal, with four mechanical arms, the hitherto unknown type of robot had large fins extending from its back.
“What!” Sousuke froze momentarily. Those fins! They reminded him of Arbalest. Could that robot have Lambda Driver technology? Could Amalgam have reduced the size of the necessary components?
The answer was yes. Heinrich’s missile flew true, its extendable warhead spike ready to provide optimum standoff for the 110mm shaped charge, which was capable of penetrating over 800 mm of steel. The explosion had no effect, as a glowing blue globe of light expanded outward from the robot. At the same time, it opened fire from all four weapons arms, each oriented on a separate target.
Bullets tore through the metal Sousuke was prostrate behind. They came very close to striking him, one of them cutting through a tuft of his hair. A large number of leaves and branch fragments from an overhead tree rained down on him. He was effectively pinned down. If he stood, the fire from that machine would tear him apart, just as it did one unlucky soldier who had been caught without cover.
Heinrich went down, struck in one leg. Sousuke could make out his blurry shadow as he struggled to reload his Panzerfaust. Fingers twitching impotently, Sousuke wondered what they could possibly do. The only thing he could hope for was a malfunction in the Lambda Driver, seeing that the newest Venom Arm Slaves still had occasional trouble, and their systems had been refined multiple times since the first Codarls. Watching as the robot advanced on a number of his comrades, he saw another image of Kaname and Leonard.
Leonard had kissed Kaname, pulling her into a lasting embrace. It was hard to see what was going on with complete certainty, but it looked as if she were kissing him in return.
He was 2,519 kilometers and 1,360 nautical miles away from Hong Kong. There was no stolen and rampaging Venom, destined to be destroyed by five other Arm Slaves, before they too met their end. He had not returned from speaking with Gauron, who would never make another impossible return. But, laying there flat against the moist lawn surface, Sousuke wondered if he had lost Kaname for good. The same feelings that plagued him then, threatened to overwhelm him now. If she had gone bad, then who would show up to bring him around again? No one!
Leonard
Yes. Leonard Testarossa was responsible for all this. Why hadn’t he taken that shot when he had the chance? The man had been dressed in dark robes, and they might not have had the same abilities as that fantastic coat of his. Kaname wouldn’t have been in danger of retribution, if she was his lover. No danger from Amalgam, any way.
What should his response be in just such a situation? Did he still owe her something, for everything she had done for him in the past? Would her safety still matter to him, if she was romantically attached to that guy? That wasn’t just some question meant to make him teary-eyed and heartbroken. If he managed to escape from the murderous advance of that robot, what next? Would he need to fight an Arm Slave battle? Might he make his way into the building, searching for Kaname? If he found her, should he put his life at risk to save her? Capture her? Or, should he treat her like a threat, and neutralize the danger without a moment’s hesitation? Could he possibly do that, without knowing all of the answers?
Providence was on the side of the attacking force that evening. After a number of Javelin missiles impacted harmlessly against the force shield of the robot, the cocoon of light began to flicker, and then went out entirely. Moments later, Henrich’s next missile found its mark, tearing off one of the two jointed legs. Unable to move quickly enough, the robot because the target of additional fire. A large pouch flew out of the darkness, catching on one of the gun arms. Detonation of the plastic explosive inside the satchel put the machine out of action.
“Incoming!” Capt. Gordon’s shouted warning was a life saver for Sousuke and a few lucky others. Before being knocked out of commission, the fearsome robot had opened numerous holes in its outermost armor. A large number of spherical objects were launched in a 360 degree spread. Some had long spikes protruding from their surface. Those stuck into the wood of the house… the bark of trees… and in the soil they landed on. Others were smooth surfaced. Those bounced and rolled, finding their way through shattered windows… under dense and sculpted shrubbery… and small ruts and recesses in the lawn area.
A series of loud explosions marked the location of each of the bomb-like projectiles. Sousuke grimaced when a few small pieces of shrapnel creased his legs and bounced off of his combat vest. Not totally oblivious to the sounds of moaning and the calls for medical attention, he took the opportunity to run to the side of the manor house. The Malaysian troops had been assigned as medics. It was up to them to remove the injured and aid them as best they could. Looking down at his feet, he noticed that he had almost stepped on the nearly unrecognizable lifeless form of Third Sergeant Yam.
Calls from inside and outside the building gave Sousuke reason to predict success. It sounded as if they were gaining a necessary foothold, and that the seeming endless numbers of Arastols had begun to diminish significantly. Gunfire was still being exchanged as a blistering pace; but, he would gladly grab hold of any shred of hope at that moment.
Hope. Did he really have any need for such a fickle and fleeting thing?
A flash of color caught his eye. Something had fallen down from the veranda, landing on one of the pock-marked window boxes. No. It hadn’t fallen. It had flown. It was some kind of bird! That alone had Sousuke blinking rapidly. For some reason, he was flummoxed. A silly and pointless question came to mind. ‘What is a bird doing in the middle of battle?’
“SOUSUKE!”
“Wh-Wh-What…” Sousuke instinctively answered the question, as he dodged a series of shots impacting just above his head. He felt foolish, talking with a bird. But, he couldn’t worry about that. Why had the bird called out his name? Wondering if the pastel blue parakeet might hold some important clue, he grabbed it and held it against his chest, rolling out of the way of sniper fire.
“Ouch!” Sousuke brought a finger to his mouth. Hope had bitten him soundly, upset at her abrupt and rough handling.
“Jerk… jerk… jerk…”
Sousuke frowned. The bird wasn’t judging him. How could it? But, someone had taught it that word. The close association with his name gave him a good idea of who the perpetrator was. It also had him frowning, thinking that Kaname must have come to hate him. That might be all the indication he needed to know what side her loyalties belong to.
That fact might lead to some hard choices for him later. He had promised to bring Kaname back. He had implied that he would return her safely to Tokyo. That meant he couldn’t simply bring her lifeless body home, and think that he had kept his honor intact. But, what would one more broken promise mean? He was a soldier, not some storybook hero.
“Leonard is a jerk… Leonard is a jerk… Leonard is a jerk…”
“What did you say,” Sousuke blurted out, feeling like a numskull again. The bird couldn’t understand his question, or course. But, it had clearly repeated the derogatory remark, this time aimed at Leonard. Or, was that simply one of Kaname’s angry terms of endearment, one that Sousuke himself once had ample opportunity to get used to?
In any case, it certainly injected yet another dose of doubt. How could he simply write off Kaname, if he didn’t know the full story? Wouldn’t it be best to give it his all, trying his best to keep her safe, until he had time to question her thoroughly?
“SOUSUKE… SOUSUKE… SOUSUKE…”
Someone slid to a halt near Sousuke. “It seems you have found a rather talkative new girlfriend,” Sgt. Petelicki said, after making a number of hand signals that sent soldiers to different points around the house. “Guess you have a thing for blue, huh?” His hair was matted with blood, but he still had his same cheerful demeanor.
“Uhhh…” Even under fire, Sousuke took a moment to stare at the Pole, blinded by the surreal nature of the whole situation.
“Człowiek strzela, Pan Bóg kule nosi,” Petelicki said, grabbing Sousuke by the shoulder and dragging him along for a stretch. “Man shoots, God carries the bullets.” Large flakes of concrete flew about their heads, as Arastol fire was concentrated on where that had been standing.
“Where devil cannot go, he will send a woman,” Sousuke said, before blindly raising his M4A1 over the lip of the porch he leaned against, firing to clear away any human enemies. He had heard that Polish quote from an instructor in Mithril boot camp. It seemed oddly apropos at the moment. He would not repeat it to Kaname, however. Looking down at the bird, he hoped it wasn’t a quick learner.
“Isn’t that the truth!” The other soldier slapped Sousuke hard on the back. “Take your call. I will cover you.”
Sousuke had taken his cell phone out of his pocket. He was receiving a call from Wraith. Flipping open the phone, he held it to one ear, using a finger on the other hand to plug up his external auditory canal so he could hear better. In close proximity to his head, Hope began tugging at his hair.
“What? You must speak louder!” Sousuke had trouble hearing Wraith’s words. “Repeat what you said.”
“Come on! Go… go… go…” Capt. Gordon led a group of survivors along the front path towards the main entry. Petelicki tapped Sousuke on the shoulder before joining the other men.
“Jerk… jerk… jerk…”
Hope was not in the best of moods. Her raucous shrieks went unnoticed by the men running towards the manor. But, Wraith had heard things clear enough.
“That was not me,” Sousuke said, somewhat perturbed. It was more difficult holding onto the bird than it used to be looking after Kaname under fire; but, not by much. To be on the safe side, with a squirming bird in his grasp, he thought that rather than spoke it. “Never mind the particulars. What was that about Arm Slaves?”
“I said that I have located the Arm Slaves. They are indeed Venom class. There are two.” Wraith’s voice faded out for a moment, while she was dodging small arm’s fire on her end. “They are hidden in a grove of artificial trees, located behind the parking area located between Carcosa and Seri Negara, halfway between the small building there and Jaman Damansara.” She gave Sousuke a set of precise GPS coordinates, to help him navigate in the darkness between the two former hotels.
“Roger that,” Sousuke answered. “What about pilot activity?”
“Roger that… Roger that… Roger that…”
Hope kept nipping at Sousuke’s hand. He considered letting the bird go, but couldn’t help but wonder if Kaname might have taught the bird some kind of crucial message or password. Probably not, but he couldn’t take the chance.
“Wait!” Wraith’s word was followed by more silence, for a different reason this time. “I see someone. It’s a man, by his posture. He’s headed towards the Venoms.” There was another pause. “I shot at him, but missed. I can no longer see him. I’m pinned down and must go.” With that, the signal ceased.
Sousuke squatted down by a number of upended and shattered planters, their dirt and flowers trampled flat bt human and robotic feet. He was conflicted, wanting to follow the other commandos inside the building. That would be the best way to find Kaname, and keep her safe. But, part of him reverted to logic and experience. The saying ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’ was pertinent to combat too. The more soldiers inside, the less flexibility any one of them might have in tight quarters. And, the higher risk of dangerous cross-fires and unwanted stray bullets.
There was also no denying the fact that an unopposed A.S. could cause a tremendous amount of havoc, leveling the house if the enemy felt the situation was unsalvageable. Doctrine dictated that he run to any available Arm Slave as quickly as possible. But, he froze, thinking back to his fight against Leonard and that wicked looking machine of his.
“SOUSUKE!”
Hope’s timely call helped him pull himself together again. He had a job to do. Kaname was an unknown. There was no way to tell if she had turned, or held strong. He didn’t even know if she was dead or alive, given the destruction parts of the house had suffered Wraith’s call left little doubt to what the assault force and captives might be facing, if he didn’t get his ass in gear. Picturing what Mao might say to him in just that kind of situation, he made a dash across an expanse of brightly lit yard before reaching the relative comfort of a darkened area of topiary.
Almost feeling as if he we abandoning Kaname, Sousuke ran in a purposefully random zig-zag pattern, drawing fire from more than one well-concealed enemy. As good fortune would have it, he managed to make it across the wide open area that surrounded the roadway between Seri Negara and Carcosa without being wounded. As he ran past the largest of three nearby parking areas, he threw him self hard to the ground, subsequently rolling and striking a mangled parked car. The sound of a powerful multi-barrel gun filled the night around him, sounding a lot like giants sheets of parchment being torn in short intervals.
It was a Venom! Walking backward, laying down heavy fire on the troops assaulting Seri Negara, the A.S. crushed and knocked aside the automobiles sitting in the dark lot, lit only by the light of the moon. A number of resounding gong-like noises sounded, as large hollow brass casings littered the area on both sides of Sousuke. He could feel rather than see the steam coming off of the massive spent cartridges. Only a matter of a few feet made the difference between his being safe, and his being squashed underneath the foot of the Arm Slave. Teeth clenched, he prayed that the pilot wasn’t using infrared, and wasn’t concerned about individual enemies.
“SOUSUKE… SOUSUKE… SOUSUKE…”
“Quiet!” Sousuke’s inappropriately loud admonishment had him ready to run. Fortunately, the operator of the Venom had not turned on it external microphones, or was too busy dealing with the small number of men manning portable ATGM systems. So far, the A.S. had not engaged its ECS system, and had not shown any sign of an operating Lambda Driver. That might not be reason for confidence. The pilot might not have felt any need, given the near impotence of the forces arrayed against him.
“Leonard is a creep… Leonard… Leonard… Leonard….”
“Shush!” Sousuke said, feeling foolish again. He thought about breaking the parakeets neck, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. Instead, he did his best to keep the bird’s beak shut. For his efforts, Hope responded by defecating in his closed hand.
A single javelin missile struck the Venom, while the other guided rockets had been knocked from the air by fire from the Gatling gun. A large dark splotch on the side of the A.S. was barely visible in the darkness, despite the abnormally bright glow of the moon. The pilot’s response was rather obvious, however. A blue nimbus sprung to life, clinging to the machine like an extra coat of armor. Soon, it began to fluctuate and expand outward.
Sousuke cursed under his breath. That just upped the ante. When the enemy A.S. pivoted and began placing fire on troops attacking the rear defenses of Carcosa, Sousuke got up and sprinted towards the coordinates that he had been given.
He found the other Venom the hard way, running hard into an effective camouflage net that surrounded the machine. It had been impossible to make out in the pitch black area he was heading into. There was a flashlight attachment in his weapons pack, that he could add to his M4A1 when necessary. He did not want to draw attention to himself, but had little choice. The moonlight did not extend into the grove of manmade trees.
Fortunately, he had been able to spend time looking over the remnants of a captured Venom A.S. in the past. That experience proved invaluable now. Knowing where the release lever was, he opened the canopy of the powered-down machine. A ‘whoosh’ of air accompanied the lifting of the big hatch-like structure. Lights immediately came on inside the A.S., making Sousuke sweat as he jumped inside. He hoped that the enemy didn’t have snipers able to see his current position.
“OK, let’s go partner!” His comment fell on deaf circuits, so to speak. This was not Arbalest. Al was not awaiting his commands and irritated banter. “Well, I guess you’ll have to do,” he quipped to Hope, releasing the bird once the hatch closed back down. The irate bird hopped about the control panel, its wordless chatter reminding him of Kurz when he babbled on about women or dirty magazines.
Flipping a number of switches, he managed to bring the computer system to life, and begin setting important parameters. All of the motive joints released their locks immediately. Numerous view screens flickered and lit up, while the air-handling devices began operating, providing an environment filtered against all biological, chemical, and radioactive threats.
“OK bird, let’s see how this interface works for real.” Sousuke began answering necessary prompts from the computer, while straining his eyes in the unfamiliar red-lighting. What controls engaged the Lambda Driver? Was there a voice interaction module, or would he have to type in specific commands? How he wished he was in the ARX-7!
The arm and leg controls worked in standard fashion. Venting compression gases, the Venom got to its feet. With next to no coaxing, it moved forward nimbly… spun… jumped… and landed with impeccable balance. Sousuke was a maestro in his chosen medium. But, standing out in an eerily lit stretch of lawn, he found that his actions had not gone undetected. Looking up at the moon, he saw a shape pass in front of it, seem to hang suspended in the air. It was the other Arm Slave, set to land off to one side of him.
“Go!” Forcing his leg waldos down, and pulling up sharply on his arms. The Venom leaped skyward, away from the direction the other A.S. was headed in. A few Gatling rounds glanced off the rear torso armor. The enemy was quick, and a fine shot. Sousuke needed distance now, while he figured out how to work the Lambda Driver.
Hope tumbled across the sloping metal panel when she lost her grip on a small control bar that worked the external illumination system. Sousuke made no effort to catch the bird as it fell down to the floor. An explosion of feathers was followed by an angry flight around the cabin area. The Ringneck Parakeet was not having a particularly good time.
Running across the alternating stretches of pitch black and moonlit ground, Sousuke had to leap, roll, and slide a number of times, as heavy uranium depleted rounds tossed cars high in the air and split trees that had been growing on the property before there was a city named Kuala Lumpur. A small guard house disintegrated in a cloud of small wooden splinters. One of the main gates to the driveway was torn free, sliding off along the sweeping and winding road.
“You’re good…” Sousuke didn’t bother firing in return. It would be pointless. The blue nimbus was still in place, surrounding the enemy. His shots would not do any good. Little by little, he figured out the controls in front of him.
“Lambda Driver System, second generation code XGS-2, now operational.” The cold mechanical voice was merely a recording, not the synthesized voice of a true Artificial Intelligence. “Functional controls are backlit. Optional controls remain dark. Estimated performance at 83 percent.”
“Alright…” Sousuke worked quickly, finding out a lot through trial and error, but not before his A.S. took a number of significant hits.
“Left leg joint damaged. Efficacy judged at 56 percent. Critical failure predicted with additional damage.”
“Come on you piece of junk!” Sousuke finally managed to bring up a serviceable shield. But, he didn’t have enough confidence in the system to pull off the kind of moves that he had used to defeat Gauron, or had used to take down the five Venoms in Hong Kong. “Shit! I need time!”
“Shit… shit… shit…”
Sousuke ignored Hope, who valiantly tried to cling to a strap holding down one of the cockpit’s detachable fire extinguishers. He didn’t have the luxury to wonder if the bird’s expanding vocabulary might upset Kaname, were she actually the owner of the verbose avian.
A proximity alarm had him clenching his teeth. The other Venom was over his head, descending rapidly, a wicked looking Anti-Armor dagger clutched in one mechanical fist. This was about to get up close and personal. The next few minutes passed in a blur, as Sousuke tried to block and dodge a series of exceeding fierce attacks. Warning lights flashed on and off across the control panel. There was a faint odor of ozone in the air, and the filter system was struggling to scrub it away.
“Catastrophic failure, right arm joint.”
“Damn!” That was the arm holding his short sword. He was too close to bring the Gatling to bear, even if his opponent wasn’t still projecting an effective shield. By necessity, he jumped backward, leaving himself open for attack. A vicious swipe barely missed, as he threw the A.S. into a series of back handsprings. “I can’t fail here!”
Sliding down along the panel, Hope grabbed onto a toggle switch with her beak. Her weight tripped the device. A readout appeared on the main screen, showing a vague outline of the A.S., and ghostlike profiles of various configurations. About to curse his winged companion, Sousuke stared. He understood. The various configurations related to pre-programmed Lambda Driver functions. That was useful! Sort of like preset buttons on a hand held remote control. But, would they work if he didn’t know what to picture mentally?
“One way to find out…” Running his fingers over a small touch screen that showed a similar but smaller image, he nodded when he was able to push his nimbus further outward, much the way the enemy pilot was. Now, finally, he had a chance! He was still at a severe disadvantage, but could bring some of his skills and reflexes to play in a practical fashion.
“Good job, Al!” Sousuke had decided to call the bird ‘Al.’ It didn’t seem right to simply call it ‘bird,’ now that it had proven itself part of the team… even if its actions had been accidental and unintentional. He didn’t care about the gender of the bird. He was no expert at that, nor de he want to be. He had trouble enough dealing with members of the opposite sex of his own species. “Urrrpppfff…”
A strong impact sent him backwards, the Venom rolling ass over teakettle until it was stopped by one of the steel and plastic artificial raintrees. The cabin lights blinked ominously for a few moments, before staying on.
“Hang in there partner, it’s our turn now.” Sousuke was ready to go all out, knowing that any further hesitation would spell the end of him. It was all or nothing, now or never. "Soon shall the hosts be routed, and they shall turn their backs. Nay, the hour is their promised time, and the hour shall be most grievous and bitter". He didn’t know why he chose that moment to remember the words that one of his Mujahideen leaders had been wont to say, but the phrase sounded appropriate.
“SOUSUKE!”
As he attacked and retreated without finding the opening he needed, Sousuke thought back to the man who had helped train him to be a warrior. He had been a harsh man, but a fair man. He had taught an infidel child, and helped set him on the path to being a warrior.
Fighting not only for his own life, but for the surviving members of his group, Sousuke thanked his long dead teacher for the lessons he had taught, more by example than by any verbal instruction. While Sousuke never became an adherent to their faith, he had learned something of dedication and perseverance from the Afghani opposition fighters. He remembered the last day of his first master’s life.
In the stillness of a night many years past, at the mouth of the Panjsher valley, the man stood up and faced the Qiblah. Raising his hand in surrender to God, he entered into a state of prayer. Finishing the opening chapter of the Quran, he began reciting Surah al-Kahf, a long Surah of one hundred and ten verses dealing with the virtues of faith, truth and patience. While he was thus absorbed in reciting and reflecting upon the divine words, a squad of Russian soldiers had come upon their small group.
A sniper fired. The bullet took the mujahideen soldier in the leg. He winced, but continued with his recitation, still absorbed in his Salat. The attacker shot a second and a third time, hitting him in the arm and side. He finished his recitation, made ruku and then sujud. Weak and in pain, he stretched out his right hand while still in prostration and shook Sousuke. “Take up my weapon, child. I have been wounded. Carry on in my place.”
“Why,” Sousuke had asked, seeing the man collapse in pain, near death. “You could have run.”
"I was in the midst of reciting verses of the Quran, which filled my soul with awe, and I did not want to cut short the recitation. I swore to commit this surah to memory. Death would have been dearer to me than that the recitation of this surah should be interrupted."
Sousuke still didn’t understand that kind of thinking, as it pertained to religion. But, he knew what it was like to hold things more dear than life. He wanted to find Kaname again. He wanted to redeem himself, if only a slight bit, in the eyes of his teacher and classmates. He wanted to strike back in Nami’s name. He wanted to fight… to win… to prove he deserved to exist. The Amalgam bastard was standing in his way.
That day long ago, he had taken up the fallen man’s rifle. He had taken part in his first battle. Men had died at his hand. It was time to take another enemy down.
The dance of the two titans continued, as soldiers from both sides were doing their best to win their own fights. As was often the case in a battle between near equals, the final outcome was decided as much by opportunity and good fortune as it was by speed, strength, and skill. The fighting had taken Sousuke and his unknown adversary over by the Seri Negara mansion. Forced backward, the opposing Venom put its rear foot through the external wall of the building, ruining what had once been The Gulai House restaurant. The refurbished portion of the century-old colonial building no longer admitted diners who wanted to sample classic Malay cuisine in a less formal environment. When the brief misstep gave the Sousuke the opening he needed, his enemy no longer needed to be concerned about their contest.
Focusing his will and calling out a mindless nonverbal challenge, Sousuke pushed his Gatling gun through the force shield of the other A.S., firing at point blank range, leaving the defeated machine a smoking ruin.
“We… we did it… Al…” Sousuke took one of his arms out of the waldo unit, so he could wipe away the sweat from his brow. It had kept running down into his eyes as he fought. “Let’s go find your owner.”
“Leonard… Leonard… Leonard…”
Sousuke nodded. He had reason to find Leonard Testarossa, too. An entirely different reason. Trudging the A.S. through the lawn areas, back towards Carcosa, he tried to teach Hope to say ‘Kaname’ instead of ‘Leonard.’ He soon forgot about that, when he reached the front of the other building. Getting a ‘V’ sign from one of the Malaysian soldiers after announcing who he was, he grabbed hold of a squawking parakeet and extended the Venom’s arm up onto the scarred veranda outside of Kaname’s room. Opening the hatch, he jumped down onto the impromptu stairway and made his way into the building.
The room was a mess. The walls were marred by bullet marks. Once beautiful furniture and accessories lay in shambles. The wreckage of a number of Arastols lay near bloody marks on the carpet, where bodies had been removed. Sousuke hoped that Kaname had not been one of them. Expensive looking woman’s clothing was strewn about. He didn’t want to think what that might mean.
“Uhhh…”
That was Hope, not Sousuke. The bird was bobbing its head up and down.
“Is this your home?” Sousuke leaned over to set a fallen pedestal and birdcage back the way it must have originally been. Remarkably, the cage didn’t seem too much the worse for wear. He placed the parakeet inside the enclosure, released it, and then closed the door. Spying a cracker sitting on a torn curtain, he picked it up and placed it through the bars. Hope ignored it. Shrugging, he let it fall to the cage floor.
After that, he walked through the house carefully, not wanting to fall through any weakened areas of the flooring, or to surprise any of his gun-toting compatriots. He also wanted to be careful of possible booby traps. None of the other men he came across had seen any sign of a girl matching Kaname’s description. At his request, Captain Gordon radioed the troops over at Seri Negara. There was no sign of her over there either.
He should have expected Leonard to be a slippery bastard. There was no way to be sure where he might be headed. He would bet anything that Kaname was with him, either voluntarily, or by no choice of her own. Frustrated, he resisted the temptation to put his fist through an expensive stained glass window down in a cozy sitting room.
All that, for nothing!
It was nearly unbearable, having a need to go somewhere, but having no idea where to go. Helping to triage the wounded while Malaysian ambulances were inbound, he kept hoping for some word to come in. There were men stationed at the nearest airfields, as well as at the Amalgam holdings. Hopefully they would catch sight of Leonard or Kaname. But, for all he knew, they could have boarded a cloaked helicopter just about anywhere, headed off to who knows where. He didn’t want to have to start all over again!
Capt. Gordon, Sgt. Howe, Sgt. Petelicki, and others offered him their sympathy, and thanked him for his good work. A number of emergency medical technicians offered to see to his minor wounds, but he brusquely waved them off.
He had been about to request a vehicle take him to either the Batu Caves or Petronas Towers, if fighting was ongoing at either sight. He hoped that Kurz and Melissa were both safe and unharmed. If they were still in the middle of fighting, he wanted to help. He could at least do that much.
A message came in. Someone had noticed something strange about a nondescript white van that pulled into the underground Petronas parking garage. It looked to have a long streamer of blue fabric tied to its front passenger side door handle. Up close, the fabric actually turned out to be hair.
“Kaname,” Sousuke said. “The hair must be some signal of hers.” Not only that, it was a sign that she was trying to draw attention to her plight. Why would she do that if she was running away with Leonard? “I will need a vehicle,” he insisted.
“We can arrange that,” Gordon said. “But, the streets will be crowded by police, medical personnel, and onlookers. Don’t you still have the keys to that little toy you borrowed?”
“Uhhh…” Sousuke closed his eyes and nodded his head. Why hadn’t he thought of that? “I’ll be leaving now.” He spat out some quick goodbyes, and then ran back up the stairs to the topmost floor of suites.
About to jump up onto the hand of the inactive Venom, he stopped, looking over at Hope’s cage. The bird was busy pulling at the string attached to a small bell. He stared a moment, debating with himself. “OK. Let’s go, Al.”
Cage in hand, he headed out onto the balcony.
Light and shadow seemed to merge. People moved. Weapons fired. Every little detail of every action was exaggerated; but, nothing came into sharp focus.
Despite the way that things seemed to him, Sousuke moved swiftly and effectively, going on instinct more than anything else. Somewhere in side him there was a will to survive. That’s what kept him going. He felt too numb to fight for some great cause or goal.
A line of bullets tore a groove in the soil, advancing towards him. He stepped aside without thought, swung his Barrett rifle around, and proceeded to put round after round into an Arastol, its gun arm tossing spent cartridges off into the darkness.
That action was repeated by many of the remaining soldiers, beset as they were by a large number of robots. The mechanical terrors had jumped down from trees… erupted out of the ground beneath well-manicured hedgerows… and run from a storage facility that had been built underneath the manor’s pool when the swimming facilities were renovated.
To the young Mithril sergeant, the destruction of his inhuman opponent brought no excitement or sense of satisfaction. If anything, the intelligent machines were a better parody of human beings than he was at the moment. Rolling, he tried to target an Amalgam sniper hiding in the shadows of the roof above Kaname’s room. Seeing a miniscule muzzle flash, he oriented on that, fired, and began moving again before the body of the enemy soldier hit the ground below.
Kaname.
Part of him kept trying to get his attention, insisting that Kaname Chidori needed to be rescued. But, those pleas fell on deaf ears, so to speak. If what he had seen was any indication, Kaname may not want to be rescued. Even with the death and destruction erupting around him at a furious pace, he couldn’t help but relive some of what he had seen before.
Leonard was standing close to Kaname, and she didn’t make an effort to move away from him, not even when he made some kind of motion with his hand near her face.
Mindlessly, he moved to change the clip on his M107. He had chosen a heavily planted area behind an old gnarled tree, out of the line of sight of the Carcosa defenders. But, that did not make him invisible, especially to the Arastols with their many means to sense human adversaries. Looking up, he almost welcomed death, seeing the flanges on the gun arm of a robot lift up as it oriented its weapon on him. A series of shots struck the robot, giving Sousuke a new lease on life.
“Come on kid, pick it up!” Captain Gordon let his rifle fall to the ground as he took out a number of white phosphorous grenade and heaved them into a dark part of the lawn.
“Affirmative.” To Sousuke, it seemed that someone else was speaking. That didn’t matter. Some of his apathy was wearing off. He was the one doing the fighting. “Down!” With metronomic precision, the young soldier placed a number of shots into an Arastol with a flame cannon on one arm, and a large fuel reservoir on its back. The robot burst into a towering pillar of flame before it could fatally burn the American special forces commando.
Leonard and his cronies had been busy. There were numerous types of Arastols streaking across the manor grounds, attacking fearlessly with a wide variety of offensive weapons. Loud explosions punctuated the cacophony of battle, as some of the damaged robots exploded like giant Claymore mines, sending steel balls whistling through the night air.
Leonard.
Sousuke clenched his teeth, a rage beginning to build inside of him. Leonard Testarossa had designed and built the robots that were killing his comrades tonight. He lost track of how many of his fellow soldiers had fallen to the ground dead or seriously wounded. The enemy had also rigged a number of clever and unexpected defensive systems throughout the property, everywhere from the front lawns to the tennis courts, sauna area, and car parks in the rear.
“A little help!” That was Sgt. Howe. In the dark, it was difficult to make out the fact that his left side was covered with blood, much of it his own. Trying to fend off a number of Arastols that were leaping from tree to tree above his head, he was at the mercy of a number of attack dogs darting towards him through holes in the damaged hedges.
Sousuke swung around his M4A1 and began to take down the first of the slavering hounds. Placing a 40mm grenade into the dense canopy of a broad full tree, he flushed a number of robots out into the open. Before he could return his attention to the dogs, a javelin ATGM flew past him, close enough for him to see a brief blur of metal pass through one of the beams of light coming from search lights.
The light went out, courtesy of commandos who had made it inside the main building. The missile detonated, sending pieces of the Arastol cartwheeling off in all directions. The battle raged on, as Sousuke ran to the next point of cover just as an unidentified Malaysian soldier hurried to help his Australian comrade.
Knocking over a number of large wrought iron sitting benches, Sousuke used them as minimal shields as he surveyed the area in front of him. Heart beating rapidly, and eyes seeking potential kill zones, he found his mind moving in two directions again. He clenched his fists, pulling up a number of blades of lush grass.
Leonard was running his hand up Kaname’s arm to her shoulder. He slid down along her body and out of sight.
He snapped out of his minor fugue. The who wrenching and aching feeling he felt in his gut might be something new, but the deadly chaos around him was not. He was in his element. Watching a number of Thai and international commandos flatten themselves against the front of Carcosa, he put down some covering fire so that they could gain entrance to the building. That done, his gaze wandered back to Kaname’s veranda. There were a number of Arastols up there, and they were drawing heavy fire. If anyone was still in that room, they would be at severe risk of injury or death.
Kaname.
Kaname. Kaname Chidori. What she had come to mean to him. Everything that he had done to find her. The hope that he had felt. The guilt that he had fought through. Was it all for naught? Was she a traitor to the cause? Had she fallen for the man that kidnapped her?
Spang spang spang spang spang spang! Metal balls from an Arastol ricocheted off of the lawn furniture, actually rocking the heavy benches. This had quickly become a fight for survival first, and a rescue mission second. Amalgam must have anticipated some kind of assault. Either that, or they were as well-prepared as always. He had no word from the forces moving in on Seri Negara. If they were meeting similar resistance, there might be no opportunity to gather important documents and computer files before the data was removed or destroyed
As bad as things were, they could easily get worse. So far, he hadn’t heard the telltale sound of ripping paper that signaled the Gatling gun of a Venom in action. Reloading his M4A1’s grenade launcher, his thoughts drifted again.
Leonard had kissed Kaname on the forehead. She hadn’t made any attempt to move away. She made no effort to strike him.
“Scheiße! Pass auf!” The frantic warning came from Master Sergeant Heinrich. “Look out!” The German braced his Panzerfaust 3 against a tree trunk riddled with bullet holes. He had caught sight of something closing in on Sousuke and the other soldiers in his vicinity.
Something new had made the scene. It was not an Arastol. It was also not an Arm Slave. It was something in between the size and effectiveness of those two weapons systems. Bipedal, with four mechanical arms, the hitherto unknown type of robot had large fins extending from its back.
“What!” Sousuke froze momentarily. Those fins! They reminded him of Arbalest. Could that robot have Lambda Driver technology? Could Amalgam have reduced the size of the necessary components?
The answer was yes. Heinrich’s missile flew true, its extendable warhead spike ready to provide optimum standoff for the 110mm shaped charge, which was capable of penetrating over 800 mm of steel. The explosion had no effect, as a glowing blue globe of light expanded outward from the robot. At the same time, it opened fire from all four weapons arms, each oriented on a separate target.
Bullets tore through the metal Sousuke was prostrate behind. They came very close to striking him, one of them cutting through a tuft of his hair. A large number of leaves and branch fragments from an overhead tree rained down on him. He was effectively pinned down. If he stood, the fire from that machine would tear him apart, just as it did one unlucky soldier who had been caught without cover.
Heinrich went down, struck in one leg. Sousuke could make out his blurry shadow as he struggled to reload his Panzerfaust. Fingers twitching impotently, Sousuke wondered what they could possibly do. The only thing he could hope for was a malfunction in the Lambda Driver, seeing that the newest Venom Arm Slaves still had occasional trouble, and their systems had been refined multiple times since the first Codarls. Watching as the robot advanced on a number of his comrades, he saw another image of Kaname and Leonard.
Leonard had kissed Kaname, pulling her into a lasting embrace. It was hard to see what was going on with complete certainty, but it looked as if she were kissing him in return.
He was 2,519 kilometers and 1,360 nautical miles away from Hong Kong. There was no stolen and rampaging Venom, destined to be destroyed by five other Arm Slaves, before they too met their end. He had not returned from speaking with Gauron, who would never make another impossible return. But, laying there flat against the moist lawn surface, Sousuke wondered if he had lost Kaname for good. The same feelings that plagued him then, threatened to overwhelm him now. If she had gone bad, then who would show up to bring him around again? No one!
Leonard
Yes. Leonard Testarossa was responsible for all this. Why hadn’t he taken that shot when he had the chance? The man had been dressed in dark robes, and they might not have had the same abilities as that fantastic coat of his. Kaname wouldn’t have been in danger of retribution, if she was his lover. No danger from Amalgam, any way.
What should his response be in just such a situation? Did he still owe her something, for everything she had done for him in the past? Would her safety still matter to him, if she was romantically attached to that guy? That wasn’t just some question meant to make him teary-eyed and heartbroken. If he managed to escape from the murderous advance of that robot, what next? Would he need to fight an Arm Slave battle? Might he make his way into the building, searching for Kaname? If he found her, should he put his life at risk to save her? Capture her? Or, should he treat her like a threat, and neutralize the danger without a moment’s hesitation? Could he possibly do that, without knowing all of the answers?
Providence was on the side of the attacking force that evening. After a number of Javelin missiles impacted harmlessly against the force shield of the robot, the cocoon of light began to flicker, and then went out entirely. Moments later, Henrich’s next missile found its mark, tearing off one of the two jointed legs. Unable to move quickly enough, the robot because the target of additional fire. A large pouch flew out of the darkness, catching on one of the gun arms. Detonation of the plastic explosive inside the satchel put the machine out of action.
“Incoming!” Capt. Gordon’s shouted warning was a life saver for Sousuke and a few lucky others. Before being knocked out of commission, the fearsome robot had opened numerous holes in its outermost armor. A large number of spherical objects were launched in a 360 degree spread. Some had long spikes protruding from their surface. Those stuck into the wood of the house… the bark of trees… and in the soil they landed on. Others were smooth surfaced. Those bounced and rolled, finding their way through shattered windows… under dense and sculpted shrubbery… and small ruts and recesses in the lawn area.
A series of loud explosions marked the location of each of the bomb-like projectiles. Sousuke grimaced when a few small pieces of shrapnel creased his legs and bounced off of his combat vest. Not totally oblivious to the sounds of moaning and the calls for medical attention, he took the opportunity to run to the side of the manor house. The Malaysian troops had been assigned as medics. It was up to them to remove the injured and aid them as best they could. Looking down at his feet, he noticed that he had almost stepped on the nearly unrecognizable lifeless form of Third Sergeant Yam.
Calls from inside and outside the building gave Sousuke reason to predict success. It sounded as if they were gaining a necessary foothold, and that the seeming endless numbers of Arastols had begun to diminish significantly. Gunfire was still being exchanged as a blistering pace; but, he would gladly grab hold of any shred of hope at that moment.
Hope. Did he really have any need for such a fickle and fleeting thing?
A flash of color caught his eye. Something had fallen down from the veranda, landing on one of the pock-marked window boxes. No. It hadn’t fallen. It had flown. It was some kind of bird! That alone had Sousuke blinking rapidly. For some reason, he was flummoxed. A silly and pointless question came to mind. ‘What is a bird doing in the middle of battle?’
“SOUSUKE!”
“Wh-Wh-What…” Sousuke instinctively answered the question, as he dodged a series of shots impacting just above his head. He felt foolish, talking with a bird. But, he couldn’t worry about that. Why had the bird called out his name? Wondering if the pastel blue parakeet might hold some important clue, he grabbed it and held it against his chest, rolling out of the way of sniper fire.
“Ouch!” Sousuke brought a finger to his mouth. Hope had bitten him soundly, upset at her abrupt and rough handling.
“Jerk… jerk… jerk…”
Sousuke frowned. The bird wasn’t judging him. How could it? But, someone had taught it that word. The close association with his name gave him a good idea of who the perpetrator was. It also had him frowning, thinking that Kaname must have come to hate him. That might be all the indication he needed to know what side her loyalties belong to.
That fact might lead to some hard choices for him later. He had promised to bring Kaname back. He had implied that he would return her safely to Tokyo. That meant he couldn’t simply bring her lifeless body home, and think that he had kept his honor intact. But, what would one more broken promise mean? He was a soldier, not some storybook hero.
“Leonard is a jerk… Leonard is a jerk… Leonard is a jerk…”
“What did you say,” Sousuke blurted out, feeling like a numskull again. The bird couldn’t understand his question, or course. But, it had clearly repeated the derogatory remark, this time aimed at Leonard. Or, was that simply one of Kaname’s angry terms of endearment, one that Sousuke himself once had ample opportunity to get used to?
In any case, it certainly injected yet another dose of doubt. How could he simply write off Kaname, if he didn’t know the full story? Wouldn’t it be best to give it his all, trying his best to keep her safe, until he had time to question her thoroughly?
“SOUSUKE… SOUSUKE… SOUSUKE…”
Someone slid to a halt near Sousuke. “It seems you have found a rather talkative new girlfriend,” Sgt. Petelicki said, after making a number of hand signals that sent soldiers to different points around the house. “Guess you have a thing for blue, huh?” His hair was matted with blood, but he still had his same cheerful demeanor.
“Uhhh…” Even under fire, Sousuke took a moment to stare at the Pole, blinded by the surreal nature of the whole situation.
“Człowiek strzela, Pan Bóg kule nosi,” Petelicki said, grabbing Sousuke by the shoulder and dragging him along for a stretch. “Man shoots, God carries the bullets.” Large flakes of concrete flew about their heads, as Arastol fire was concentrated on where that had been standing.
“Where devil cannot go, he will send a woman,” Sousuke said, before blindly raising his M4A1 over the lip of the porch he leaned against, firing to clear away any human enemies. He had heard that Polish quote from an instructor in Mithril boot camp. It seemed oddly apropos at the moment. He would not repeat it to Kaname, however. Looking down at the bird, he hoped it wasn’t a quick learner.
“Isn’t that the truth!” The other soldier slapped Sousuke hard on the back. “Take your call. I will cover you.”
Sousuke had taken his cell phone out of his pocket. He was receiving a call from Wraith. Flipping open the phone, he held it to one ear, using a finger on the other hand to plug up his external auditory canal so he could hear better. In close proximity to his head, Hope began tugging at his hair.
“What? You must speak louder!” Sousuke had trouble hearing Wraith’s words. “Repeat what you said.”
“Come on! Go… go… go…” Capt. Gordon led a group of survivors along the front path towards the main entry. Petelicki tapped Sousuke on the shoulder before joining the other men.
“Jerk… jerk… jerk…”
Hope was not in the best of moods. Her raucous shrieks went unnoticed by the men running towards the manor. But, Wraith had heard things clear enough.
“That was not me,” Sousuke said, somewhat perturbed. It was more difficult holding onto the bird than it used to be looking after Kaname under fire; but, not by much. To be on the safe side, with a squirming bird in his grasp, he thought that rather than spoke it. “Never mind the particulars. What was that about Arm Slaves?”
“I said that I have located the Arm Slaves. They are indeed Venom class. There are two.” Wraith’s voice faded out for a moment, while she was dodging small arm’s fire on her end. “They are hidden in a grove of artificial trees, located behind the parking area located between Carcosa and Seri Negara, halfway between the small building there and Jaman Damansara.” She gave Sousuke a set of precise GPS coordinates, to help him navigate in the darkness between the two former hotels.
“Roger that,” Sousuke answered. “What about pilot activity?”
“Roger that… Roger that… Roger that…”
Hope kept nipping at Sousuke’s hand. He considered letting the bird go, but couldn’t help but wonder if Kaname might have taught the bird some kind of crucial message or password. Probably not, but he couldn’t take the chance.
“Wait!” Wraith’s word was followed by more silence, for a different reason this time. “I see someone. It’s a man, by his posture. He’s headed towards the Venoms.” There was another pause. “I shot at him, but missed. I can no longer see him. I’m pinned down and must go.” With that, the signal ceased.
Sousuke squatted down by a number of upended and shattered planters, their dirt and flowers trampled flat bt human and robotic feet. He was conflicted, wanting to follow the other commandos inside the building. That would be the best way to find Kaname, and keep her safe. But, part of him reverted to logic and experience. The saying ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’ was pertinent to combat too. The more soldiers inside, the less flexibility any one of them might have in tight quarters. And, the higher risk of dangerous cross-fires and unwanted stray bullets.
There was also no denying the fact that an unopposed A.S. could cause a tremendous amount of havoc, leveling the house if the enemy felt the situation was unsalvageable. Doctrine dictated that he run to any available Arm Slave as quickly as possible. But, he froze, thinking back to his fight against Leonard and that wicked looking machine of his.
“SOUSUKE!”
Hope’s timely call helped him pull himself together again. He had a job to do. Kaname was an unknown. There was no way to tell if she had turned, or held strong. He didn’t even know if she was dead or alive, given the destruction parts of the house had suffered Wraith’s call left little doubt to what the assault force and captives might be facing, if he didn’t get his ass in gear. Picturing what Mao might say to him in just that kind of situation, he made a dash across an expanse of brightly lit yard before reaching the relative comfort of a darkened area of topiary.
Almost feeling as if he we abandoning Kaname, Sousuke ran in a purposefully random zig-zag pattern, drawing fire from more than one well-concealed enemy. As good fortune would have it, he managed to make it across the wide open area that surrounded the roadway between Seri Negara and Carcosa without being wounded. As he ran past the largest of three nearby parking areas, he threw him self hard to the ground, subsequently rolling and striking a mangled parked car. The sound of a powerful multi-barrel gun filled the night around him, sounding a lot like giants sheets of parchment being torn in short intervals.
It was a Venom! Walking backward, laying down heavy fire on the troops assaulting Seri Negara, the A.S. crushed and knocked aside the automobiles sitting in the dark lot, lit only by the light of the moon. A number of resounding gong-like noises sounded, as large hollow brass casings littered the area on both sides of Sousuke. He could feel rather than see the steam coming off of the massive spent cartridges. Only a matter of a few feet made the difference between his being safe, and his being squashed underneath the foot of the Arm Slave. Teeth clenched, he prayed that the pilot wasn’t using infrared, and wasn’t concerned about individual enemies.
“SOUSUKE… SOUSUKE… SOUSUKE…”
“Quiet!” Sousuke’s inappropriately loud admonishment had him ready to run. Fortunately, the operator of the Venom had not turned on it external microphones, or was too busy dealing with the small number of men manning portable ATGM systems. So far, the A.S. had not engaged its ECS system, and had not shown any sign of an operating Lambda Driver. That might not be reason for confidence. The pilot might not have felt any need, given the near impotence of the forces arrayed against him.
“Leonard is a creep… Leonard… Leonard… Leonard….”
“Shush!” Sousuke said, feeling foolish again. He thought about breaking the parakeets neck, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. Instead, he did his best to keep the bird’s beak shut. For his efforts, Hope responded by defecating in his closed hand.
A single javelin missile struck the Venom, while the other guided rockets had been knocked from the air by fire from the Gatling gun. A large dark splotch on the side of the A.S. was barely visible in the darkness, despite the abnormally bright glow of the moon. The pilot’s response was rather obvious, however. A blue nimbus sprung to life, clinging to the machine like an extra coat of armor. Soon, it began to fluctuate and expand outward.
Sousuke cursed under his breath. That just upped the ante. When the enemy A.S. pivoted and began placing fire on troops attacking the rear defenses of Carcosa, Sousuke got up and sprinted towards the coordinates that he had been given.
He found the other Venom the hard way, running hard into an effective camouflage net that surrounded the machine. It had been impossible to make out in the pitch black area he was heading into. There was a flashlight attachment in his weapons pack, that he could add to his M4A1 when necessary. He did not want to draw attention to himself, but had little choice. The moonlight did not extend into the grove of manmade trees.
Fortunately, he had been able to spend time looking over the remnants of a captured Venom A.S. in the past. That experience proved invaluable now. Knowing where the release lever was, he opened the canopy of the powered-down machine. A ‘whoosh’ of air accompanied the lifting of the big hatch-like structure. Lights immediately came on inside the A.S., making Sousuke sweat as he jumped inside. He hoped that the enemy didn’t have snipers able to see his current position.
“OK, let’s go partner!” His comment fell on deaf circuits, so to speak. This was not Arbalest. Al was not awaiting his commands and irritated banter. “Well, I guess you’ll have to do,” he quipped to Hope, releasing the bird once the hatch closed back down. The irate bird hopped about the control panel, its wordless chatter reminding him of Kurz when he babbled on about women or dirty magazines.
Flipping a number of switches, he managed to bring the computer system to life, and begin setting important parameters. All of the motive joints released their locks immediately. Numerous view screens flickered and lit up, while the air-handling devices began operating, providing an environment filtered against all biological, chemical, and radioactive threats.
“OK bird, let’s see how this interface works for real.” Sousuke began answering necessary prompts from the computer, while straining his eyes in the unfamiliar red-lighting. What controls engaged the Lambda Driver? Was there a voice interaction module, or would he have to type in specific commands? How he wished he was in the ARX-7!
The arm and leg controls worked in standard fashion. Venting compression gases, the Venom got to its feet. With next to no coaxing, it moved forward nimbly… spun… jumped… and landed with impeccable balance. Sousuke was a maestro in his chosen medium. But, standing out in an eerily lit stretch of lawn, he found that his actions had not gone undetected. Looking up at the moon, he saw a shape pass in front of it, seem to hang suspended in the air. It was the other Arm Slave, set to land off to one side of him.
“Go!” Forcing his leg waldos down, and pulling up sharply on his arms. The Venom leaped skyward, away from the direction the other A.S. was headed in. A few Gatling rounds glanced off the rear torso armor. The enemy was quick, and a fine shot. Sousuke needed distance now, while he figured out how to work the Lambda Driver.
Hope tumbled across the sloping metal panel when she lost her grip on a small control bar that worked the external illumination system. Sousuke made no effort to catch the bird as it fell down to the floor. An explosion of feathers was followed by an angry flight around the cabin area. The Ringneck Parakeet was not having a particularly good time.
Running across the alternating stretches of pitch black and moonlit ground, Sousuke had to leap, roll, and slide a number of times, as heavy uranium depleted rounds tossed cars high in the air and split trees that had been growing on the property before there was a city named Kuala Lumpur. A small guard house disintegrated in a cloud of small wooden splinters. One of the main gates to the driveway was torn free, sliding off along the sweeping and winding road.
“You’re good…” Sousuke didn’t bother firing in return. It would be pointless. The blue nimbus was still in place, surrounding the enemy. His shots would not do any good. Little by little, he figured out the controls in front of him.
“Lambda Driver System, second generation code XGS-2, now operational.” The cold mechanical voice was merely a recording, not the synthesized voice of a true Artificial Intelligence. “Functional controls are backlit. Optional controls remain dark. Estimated performance at 83 percent.”
“Alright…” Sousuke worked quickly, finding out a lot through trial and error, but not before his A.S. took a number of significant hits.
“Left leg joint damaged. Efficacy judged at 56 percent. Critical failure predicted with additional damage.”
“Come on you piece of junk!” Sousuke finally managed to bring up a serviceable shield. But, he didn’t have enough confidence in the system to pull off the kind of moves that he had used to defeat Gauron, or had used to take down the five Venoms in Hong Kong. “Shit! I need time!”
“Shit… shit… shit…”
Sousuke ignored Hope, who valiantly tried to cling to a strap holding down one of the cockpit’s detachable fire extinguishers. He didn’t have the luxury to wonder if the bird’s expanding vocabulary might upset Kaname, were she actually the owner of the verbose avian.
A proximity alarm had him clenching his teeth. The other Venom was over his head, descending rapidly, a wicked looking Anti-Armor dagger clutched in one mechanical fist. This was about to get up close and personal. The next few minutes passed in a blur, as Sousuke tried to block and dodge a series of exceeding fierce attacks. Warning lights flashed on and off across the control panel. There was a faint odor of ozone in the air, and the filter system was struggling to scrub it away.
“Catastrophic failure, right arm joint.”
“Damn!” That was the arm holding his short sword. He was too close to bring the Gatling to bear, even if his opponent wasn’t still projecting an effective shield. By necessity, he jumped backward, leaving himself open for attack. A vicious swipe barely missed, as he threw the A.S. into a series of back handsprings. “I can’t fail here!”
Sliding down along the panel, Hope grabbed onto a toggle switch with her beak. Her weight tripped the device. A readout appeared on the main screen, showing a vague outline of the A.S., and ghostlike profiles of various configurations. About to curse his winged companion, Sousuke stared. He understood. The various configurations related to pre-programmed Lambda Driver functions. That was useful! Sort of like preset buttons on a hand held remote control. But, would they work if he didn’t know what to picture mentally?
“One way to find out…” Running his fingers over a small touch screen that showed a similar but smaller image, he nodded when he was able to push his nimbus further outward, much the way the enemy pilot was. Now, finally, he had a chance! He was still at a severe disadvantage, but could bring some of his skills and reflexes to play in a practical fashion.
“Good job, Al!” Sousuke had decided to call the bird ‘Al.’ It didn’t seem right to simply call it ‘bird,’ now that it had proven itself part of the team… even if its actions had been accidental and unintentional. He didn’t care about the gender of the bird. He was no expert at that, nor de he want to be. He had trouble enough dealing with members of the opposite sex of his own species. “Urrrpppfff…”
A strong impact sent him backwards, the Venom rolling ass over teakettle until it was stopped by one of the steel and plastic artificial raintrees. The cabin lights blinked ominously for a few moments, before staying on.
“Hang in there partner, it’s our turn now.” Sousuke was ready to go all out, knowing that any further hesitation would spell the end of him. It was all or nothing, now or never. "Soon shall the hosts be routed, and they shall turn their backs. Nay, the hour is their promised time, and the hour shall be most grievous and bitter". He didn’t know why he chose that moment to remember the words that one of his Mujahideen leaders had been wont to say, but the phrase sounded appropriate.
“SOUSUKE!”
As he attacked and retreated without finding the opening he needed, Sousuke thought back to the man who had helped train him to be a warrior. He had been a harsh man, but a fair man. He had taught an infidel child, and helped set him on the path to being a warrior.
Fighting not only for his own life, but for the surviving members of his group, Sousuke thanked his long dead teacher for the lessons he had taught, more by example than by any verbal instruction. While Sousuke never became an adherent to their faith, he had learned something of dedication and perseverance from the Afghani opposition fighters. He remembered the last day of his first master’s life.
In the stillness of a night many years past, at the mouth of the Panjsher valley, the man stood up and faced the Qiblah. Raising his hand in surrender to God, he entered into a state of prayer. Finishing the opening chapter of the Quran, he began reciting Surah al-Kahf, a long Surah of one hundred and ten verses dealing with the virtues of faith, truth and patience. While he was thus absorbed in reciting and reflecting upon the divine words, a squad of Russian soldiers had come upon their small group.
A sniper fired. The bullet took the mujahideen soldier in the leg. He winced, but continued with his recitation, still absorbed in his Salat. The attacker shot a second and a third time, hitting him in the arm and side. He finished his recitation, made ruku and then sujud. Weak and in pain, he stretched out his right hand while still in prostration and shook Sousuke. “Take up my weapon, child. I have been wounded. Carry on in my place.”
“Why,” Sousuke had asked, seeing the man collapse in pain, near death. “You could have run.”
"I was in the midst of reciting verses of the Quran, which filled my soul with awe, and I did not want to cut short the recitation. I swore to commit this surah to memory. Death would have been dearer to me than that the recitation of this surah should be interrupted."
Sousuke still didn’t understand that kind of thinking, as it pertained to religion. But, he knew what it was like to hold things more dear than life. He wanted to find Kaname again. He wanted to redeem himself, if only a slight bit, in the eyes of his teacher and classmates. He wanted to strike back in Nami’s name. He wanted to fight… to win… to prove he deserved to exist. The Amalgam bastard was standing in his way.
That day long ago, he had taken up the fallen man’s rifle. He had taken part in his first battle. Men had died at his hand. It was time to take another enemy down.
The dance of the two titans continued, as soldiers from both sides were doing their best to win their own fights. As was often the case in a battle between near equals, the final outcome was decided as much by opportunity and good fortune as it was by speed, strength, and skill. The fighting had taken Sousuke and his unknown adversary over by the Seri Negara mansion. Forced backward, the opposing Venom put its rear foot through the external wall of the building, ruining what had once been The Gulai House restaurant. The refurbished portion of the century-old colonial building no longer admitted diners who wanted to sample classic Malay cuisine in a less formal environment. When the brief misstep gave the Sousuke the opening he needed, his enemy no longer needed to be concerned about their contest.
Focusing his will and calling out a mindless nonverbal challenge, Sousuke pushed his Gatling gun through the force shield of the other A.S., firing at point blank range, leaving the defeated machine a smoking ruin.
“We… we did it… Al…” Sousuke took one of his arms out of the waldo unit, so he could wipe away the sweat from his brow. It had kept running down into his eyes as he fought. “Let’s go find your owner.”
“Leonard… Leonard… Leonard…”
Sousuke nodded. He had reason to find Leonard Testarossa, too. An entirely different reason. Trudging the A.S. through the lawn areas, back towards Carcosa, he tried to teach Hope to say ‘Kaname’ instead of ‘Leonard.’ He soon forgot about that, when he reached the front of the other building. Getting a ‘V’ sign from one of the Malaysian soldiers after announcing who he was, he grabbed hold of a squawking parakeet and extended the Venom’s arm up onto the scarred veranda outside of Kaname’s room. Opening the hatch, he jumped down onto the impromptu stairway and made his way into the building.
The room was a mess. The walls were marred by bullet marks. Once beautiful furniture and accessories lay in shambles. The wreckage of a number of Arastols lay near bloody marks on the carpet, where bodies had been removed. Sousuke hoped that Kaname had not been one of them. Expensive looking woman’s clothing was strewn about. He didn’t want to think what that might mean.
“Uhhh…”
That was Hope, not Sousuke. The bird was bobbing its head up and down.
“Is this your home?” Sousuke leaned over to set a fallen pedestal and birdcage back the way it must have originally been. Remarkably, the cage didn’t seem too much the worse for wear. He placed the parakeet inside the enclosure, released it, and then closed the door. Spying a cracker sitting on a torn curtain, he picked it up and placed it through the bars. Hope ignored it. Shrugging, he let it fall to the cage floor.
After that, he walked through the house carefully, not wanting to fall through any weakened areas of the flooring, or to surprise any of his gun-toting compatriots. He also wanted to be careful of possible booby traps. None of the other men he came across had seen any sign of a girl matching Kaname’s description. At his request, Captain Gordon radioed the troops over at Seri Negara. There was no sign of her over there either.
He should have expected Leonard to be a slippery bastard. There was no way to be sure where he might be headed. He would bet anything that Kaname was with him, either voluntarily, or by no choice of her own. Frustrated, he resisted the temptation to put his fist through an expensive stained glass window down in a cozy sitting room.
All that, for nothing!
It was nearly unbearable, having a need to go somewhere, but having no idea where to go. Helping to triage the wounded while Malaysian ambulances were inbound, he kept hoping for some word to come in. There were men stationed at the nearest airfields, as well as at the Amalgam holdings. Hopefully they would catch sight of Leonard or Kaname. But, for all he knew, they could have boarded a cloaked helicopter just about anywhere, headed off to who knows where. He didn’t want to have to start all over again!
Capt. Gordon, Sgt. Howe, Sgt. Petelicki, and others offered him their sympathy, and thanked him for his good work. A number of emergency medical technicians offered to see to his minor wounds, but he brusquely waved them off.
He had been about to request a vehicle take him to either the Batu Caves or Petronas Towers, if fighting was ongoing at either sight. He hoped that Kurz and Melissa were both safe and unharmed. If they were still in the middle of fighting, he wanted to help. He could at least do that much.
A message came in. Someone had noticed something strange about a nondescript white van that pulled into the underground Petronas parking garage. It looked to have a long streamer of blue fabric tied to its front passenger side door handle. Up close, the fabric actually turned out to be hair.
“Kaname,” Sousuke said. “The hair must be some signal of hers.” Not only that, it was a sign that she was trying to draw attention to her plight. Why would she do that if she was running away with Leonard? “I will need a vehicle,” he insisted.
“We can arrange that,” Gordon said. “But, the streets will be crowded by police, medical personnel, and onlookers. Don’t you still have the keys to that little toy you borrowed?”
“Uhhh…” Sousuke closed his eyes and nodded his head. Why hadn’t he thought of that? “I’ll be leaving now.” He spat out some quick goodbyes, and then ran back up the stairs to the topmost floor of suites.
About to jump up onto the hand of the inactive Venom, he stopped, looking over at Hope’s cage. The bird was busy pulling at the string attached to a small bell. He stared a moment, debating with himself. “OK. Let’s go, Al.”
Cage in hand, he headed out onto the balcony.
And when Sousuke
I don't know what's funnier: Sousuke trying to force the bird's beak shut or Hope pooping in his hand. 
That's my vidictive side speaking anyway.