[IC] First Impressions (part 9)
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 1:49 am
The lights went out.
Everything was suddenly pitch black.
Kaname tried to slow down, after sprinting down one row. Unable to see, she misjudged the remaining distance and slammed hard into something. Fortunately, it was a large roll of blankets, meaning that the only thing that had been significantly hurt was her pride.
“Great.”
That was the second time she had fallen hard on her rump. Not too long before that, she had been knocked unceremoniously on her kiester by Sousuke, whose behavior caught her completely by surprise. She realized that it had been part of a ploy. Just the same, he would pay.
The sound of a machinegun firing casued Kaname to through herself randomly to one side. She was lucky that she had moved when she did.
“Ahh!”
Bullets flew past her unseen, thudding into the mildew-covered blankets. More than one strand of her hair had been struck by the passing projectiles.
Glancing quickly behind her, Kaname caughta glimpse of an eerie red line. It was the sensor of an Arastol! Of course, the blasted machine could see in the dark. And, its actions suggested that she was someone to be killed, not captured. Wonderful.
Scrambling on all fours for a moment, she straightened up and ran along the edge of one row of crates, hoping she wasn’t headed towards a dead end. Literally. Once again, she wondered why her teenage years had to be spent like this, running, stumbling, and falling in total darkness, with a homicidal robot on her trail.
Other girls would be home now,…eating a late supper… working on homework… talking with their girlfriends on the phone… or maybe even out on a date with someone special.
“Oww!”
Kaname ran hard into a stack of huge empty barrels, ones which could be filled with clean fresh water and moved to areas of need in a crisis. The loud din of a collapsing pyramid was accompanied by the sound of bouncing hollow drums. Maybe that would slow the robot down just enough for her to make her way to another row.
No such luck. The clanging noise she heard marked the spot where a leaping Arastol had landed. Subsequently, a number of shots were fired from its arm rifle. One grazed her ear, causing her to gasp in shock. Another bullet ripped through her skirt, just missing her leg.
“It’s only a matter of time, Miss Chidori. But, by all means, keep running.” It was that damn voice again. How Kaname hated that man. She wished that she could get the chance to wrap her hand around his neck and squeeze the life out of the jerk!
She banged her knee hard against something metal. “Ouch! Damn it Sousuke, where are you!” As she limped along as quickly as she could, dodging in random fashion from one side of the row to another, she heard a familiar sound. It was that big gun she had heard at the airport. Sousuke! He was still alive. And, he must be able to see in the dark.
See in the dark? Right. That was good for another black mark in her book. Not only had he knocked her down, but he hadn’t bothered to give her any night vision gadgets.
“Just you wait, soldier.”
Once again, good fortune embraced Kaname. Tripping over something thin, long, and wooden, she slid along the floor, scraped by the roughened concrete. But, had she remained upright, she would have been dead or severely injured. Unknown to her, an Arastol had hefted a large heavy portable generator and thrown it with all of its inhuman strength. It hit the floor with a loud sound and bounced numerous times.
“That was a close one, Miss Chidori. It shouldn’t be much longer now. It’s really quite exciting, seeing watching your terrible plight. Your intrepid boyfriend is no better off. The only question remaining is, who dies first? I have my money on you.”
Kaname couldn’t help herself. Even as she fought to hold on to what might be her last moments of life, she had to make her feelings know
“JERK!”
It truly irritated her, being entertainment for some sicko, who must be watching her with some kind of advanced technology incorporated into the robots or secreted throughout the warehouse.
The noise behind her meant that the Arastol had closed the distance between them. She fully expected to feel its cold steeling fingers grasp her around the neck, just before it snapped her spine in two. Either that, or hear one final burst from its machinegun. But, there was a much louder sound.
Without her knowledge, Arbalest had been waiting until she and Sousuke had both moved away from its chose point of entry. After weakening the roof and walls with concentrated 12.7mm fire from the head-mounted chain guns, the A.S. grasped the corrugated metal side walls of the building and began making its way inside. Immediately thereafter, it launched the first in a series of salvos, sending bright flares throughout the enclosure.
“WHAT! NO! NO NO NO NO NONONONONO-O-O-O-O…“
Sousuke’s and Kaname’s unseen tormentor was clearly flabbergasted.. Things were not going the way he had planned.
“HE’S NOT IN THAT MACHINE! HOW….”
Arbalest did not need Sousuke in the pilot’s chair. The A.I. had more than enough capability to act on its own accord, under certain limitations. Sousuke had given it all the input it needed, and continued to give orders even as he fought for his life.
“ALL FORCES, KILL THE HUMAN CAPTIVES. DESTROY THEM. NOW!”
Sousuke wished that he could locate and capture the mysterious enemy. But, there was no telling where he might be, and there were more important things to take care of first.
“Locate Miss Chidori. Careful pick her up and shield her from any enemy threats. That is your first priority.” Sousuke exhausted one clip of 25mm ammunition, taking down the first of a number of Arastols rushing towards him. Watching, he saw shots from the ARX-7s 57mm shot cannon decimate the remainder. “I told you that Kaname Chidori was first priority!”
A single shot from the Arm Slaves portable cannon echoed throughout the intact areas of the structure. The robot closing on Kaname was torn to pieces. A small amount of shrapnel fragments peppered her bottom, causing nothing worse than bruises and shallow abrasions.
“I told you, save Kaname first!” Sousuke ran towards the A.S. “Scan the room for any potential snipers or other obvious foes. Open the hatch if you don’t see any immediate threats to Miss Chidori or myself.”
“Affirmative. Don’t humans usually say ‘thank you’ when others do them a service?” The A.I. in the ARX-7 paused as the large mechanical head turned, spraying projectiles along a peripheral catwalk. “As my operator, I must assign you high priority. The situation required triage. Your situation was most likely to result in death. The shot against the girl’s pursuer was a simple one, with some time to spare.”
Bringing up the shot cannon, the A.S. destroyed a number of sentry guns and blew in the windows of a small observation booth. Moving swiftly, it stepped over Sousuke, flattening a pair of Arastols under its huge foot.
“I have told you, no human talk! If you wish to be treated like a human, then make it a soldier. And if you are to act like a soldier… follow orders!” Sousuke grimaced as a bullet struck him in the shoulder, giving him a shallow wound. “Shit! Do your job!”
“Affirmative. That one had been hidden.” A shot from the portable cannon took out one of the remaining human snipers. “Following your orders.” The Arm Slave made a low leap, brushing against the girders spanning the roof area, before stradling Kaname’s position when it laded. A small number of rolled up sleeping bags were dislodged, roiling down to hit just in front of her.
“Sousuke! If you’re in there!” Kaname shook her fist up at Arbaslest. “Hey. No. What are you doing? Not this again!” Kaname shook her head when the ARX-7 placed its open palm near her. Reluctantly, she jumped on, remembering a time when Sousuke had thrown her high into the air, in order to shout any enemy helicopter, before catching her on the A.S.’s hand.
“It would be advisable to remain still.” The A.I. voice came through the external speakers. Slowly, the great hand curled around Kaname, just in time. A number of human soldiers and one half dozen Arastol opened fire, even though their weaponry had no chance of seriously injuring the Arm Slave.
“Partner!” Sousuke’s shout was meant for the Arm Slave. “Pinpoint my position and fire near the wall, thirty feet away from me, South by Southwest. Now!”
A number of robots that had been fighting Mithril troops outside of the building had been given orders to enter the building and kill any and all expendable humans. ‘Expendable’ meant anyone who wasn’t wearing transmitter badges of the type worn by all high-ranking members of the organization.
The soldiers allied with the Arastols would have to deal with the consequences.
“Firing.” Arbalest spun quickly, knocking over huge numbers of crates and containers. Unable to get a visual sighting on the Arastols, it fired as directed. “Request target correction as necessary.” Not hearing an order to stop firing, the A.S. pumped a second volley into the area, as it began to move forward, plowing through large shelving units. “Comfirmation would be helpful.”
“Be quiet!” Sousuke jumped behind a stack of plastic-wrapped generators, caught by surprise by one of the robots. It was different than those that he had fought previously. One mechanical hand folded back to expose a hollow tube, the automaton shot out a number of ball-like objects. Grenades. “Act before talking!”
The Arastol ran through the cloud of dust and burlap fragments that were kicked up by its explosives. About to turn its arm rifle on Sousuke, it shuddered when a 25mm round took it in the center of its sensor. As it ceased to function, a pair of its intact brethren leaped over its metal and plastic carcass, preparing to kill their human opponent.
A huge arm swept across the storage area, displacing boxes and rolls of material. The closed hand struck the Astarols, flinging them hard against the warehouse wall. As the resilient robots made their way back into a standing position, they disintegrated in a spray of sparks and metal fragments and the A.S. finished them off with the chain gun.
By necessity, the hand that struck the blow was the same one that sheltered Kaname.
Banged against the sides of her temporary enclosure, the young woman was anything but happy.
“SOUSUKE SAGARA!”
“Shit.” Sousuke picked himself off the ground, grimacing from the pain of his shoulder wound. Looking around to be certain there were no nearby threats, he ran towards Arbalest, who had stopped and opened the hatch to the pilot canopy. “I love you, Kaname! Be strong!”
That ought to show her that he hadn’t been driving the damn A.S., right? And, telling her that he loved her ought to improve her mood, ought it not? He sighed when he saw Kaname poke her head between the ARX-7’s fingers.
He knew that look…only too well.
“You’ll find out how strong, mister!” Kaname watched as Sousuke climbed up Arbalsest and sat in the control chair. “Now, get us out of this place already!” Her face softening considerably, she called out, wanting to say one more thing before the hatch closed. “I love you too, you big idiot!” Thinking back to a day long ago, she remembered Tessa ordering him to turn off the external sensors. “You better not turn off those sensors. I’m not through with you yet!”
“Be quiet!” Sousuke realized his mistake immediately. He had gotten used to replying to the A.I. and had responded to his girlfriend accordingly. “Uhhh… I mean…”
“Just you wait…” Kaname’s voice was quite low, but was still audible to the sensors. “Just…… you…… wait…”
“She seems angry,” the A.I. observed. “She too did not express thanks at her rescue. It is curious. You expressed a feeling of love to her, and she returned the sentiment verbally. However, her subsequent actions are at odds with her statement. Does that mean that your rude and cursory exclamations towards me are a reflection of our closeness? Are you equally fond of me, Sergeant?”
“Be….” Sousuke caught himself. “Never mind.” There was no time to satisfy the machine’s inquisitive nature. “Assuming full control. Begin a scan of the grounds and waterfront. Notify me of the precise position of Mithril troops and any enemy that they are engaged with.
A spattering of machine gun fire ricocheted off of the ARX-7’s forearm. Performing a quick search, Sousuke identified a group of Arastols that had kept a number of Mithril soldiers pinned down. With a few deft movements, he brought up Arbalest’s shot cannon and dispatched the pugnacious robots.
“Sousuke!” Kaname’s voice came in loud and clear. “Sousuke, do you hear me?”
“Yes, Kaname. I hear you.” Sousuke’s voice carried through the area outside the mangled building. “I am busy at the moment.” Kneeling the A.S. quickly, he placed its hand between a number of his teammates and a cluster of firing Arastols. Standing the machine up again, he had it trample the robots within easy reach, and then kicked a number high into the air, targeting them one at a time with his external weapon.
“It looks like you are just playing, Sousuke!” Apparently Kaname didn’t care much for Sousuke’s improvisation. “Why don’t you find that bastard who captured me and ruin his day like he ruined mine!”
Sousuke had opened his mouth, about to say that the unseen enemy was ‘relatively low priority’ at the moment. Kaname would have interpreted that to mean that she was low priority.
Wisely, he refrained from answering.
“Perhaps you should tell the girl to be quiet,” the A.I. put in helpfully. “It might be of practical use to order her to cease being a distraction.” The A.I.’s commentary carried through the speakers. The look on Kaname’s face was a sight to see. From her prone position, she kicked hard at one of Arbalest’s fingers, and then gasped when pain shot up her leg.
“DISTRACTION!”
Sousuke was in no mood for this. Not at all. He wanted to find a safe place to put Kaname down, but that would mean leaving the fight while his comrades were still in danger. On the other hand, if the enemy had heavy weaponry in place in the area, Kaname would be a significant risk.
After everything that had gone on that day, his frustration surged.
“Be quiet!” He shouted. “Both of you!” Frowning, he patched an incoming signal into his headset. It was an operational report from his fellow Mithril soldiers. They had struggled against a fair number of Arastols and human fighters, but had managed to contain or destroy a majority of the combatants. The nearby building also seemed to be under enemy control.
“A.I., activate all sensors, no limits. Full reconnaissance mode.” Even before Sousuke had finished that order, threat detector flashed to life on Arbalest’s console. He cursed, feeling a bit dizzy. He wondered how much of that was stress, and how much might be related to blood loss.
“Warning. We have incoming missiles,” The A.I. announced. “Three, targeting us.” The A.S. leaped high into the air, avoiding the first missile. Its gun came around and fired, as Sousuke picked up the second missile in flight. The third missile was heading directly at the ARX-7.
Sousuke and the A.S. had little to fear from one such missile. Kaname, however, was at great risk. The team of man and machine reacted flawlessly, without conscious thought or command. Dropping the 57mm cannon, Arbalest held up its free hand. The Lambda Driver started, and drove a force field directly in front of them all. The warhead detonated without causing damage.
“Success,” the A.I. said. “We have avoided or destroyed all missiles. The Lambda Driver functioned perfectly again.” The voice paused. “As I have stated in the past, we have reason to be confident. Such awareness helps to raise one’s spirits.”
“Shut up!” Sousuke had no time for a garrulous machine. There could be more missiles in that building. “You will concentrate on the mission at hand! I want you to assist me with your full attention. We will use the special abilities to destroy the next warehouse.” By ‘special abilities,’ he meant using the Lambda Driver as an offensive weapon.
“Now you know what it’s like, having to deal with a moron!” Kaname shouted, having been able to overhear the conversation again. “Serves you right! Hmmmpppfff!”
“Training question, Sergeant.” The A.I. spoke as Arbalest leaped skyward. “By ‘moron’, does she mean me?” The craft landed with a jarring impact, knocking aside a small supply truck in the process. “What level of cognitive ability would I need before I would no longer be classified in that manner?”
“Guess!” Sousuke brought up one arm of the A.S., while keeping the other safely behind the main body. As he tried to imagine the effect he wanted, the building force field blocked a series of explosions. He wasn’t certain what they might have been, missiles exploding on launch… weapons stores… or some kind of self-destruct mechanism.
Concentrating, the young soldier forged the force field into a thin and broad plane of shimmering, and then swept it through the remnants of the building like a scythe. Huge chunks of steel, cinderblock walls, and corrugated steel flew this way and that.
“Analysis complete. Do you wish to hear my conclusion?” The A.I.’s question had Kaname laughing. In some ways, the voice and words reminded her of Sousuke, back in the days after he had first arrived at the school. Suddenly, her laughter stopped. It was great to be alive… but, when all was said and done, what had really changed.
If the danger was finally over this time, when would the next time be? More important, as soon as she rejoined her father and Ayame, why should she expect that anything would have changed?
“No! No more pointless talk.” Sousuke felt the tension drain out of him, snoting that the second building was now nothing more than a pile of rubble. Gritting his teeth, he repeated the process on the building that Kaname had been held captive in, after he had verified that all of his comrades were at a safe distance.
When a complete scan of the general area showed no evidence of obvious danger, he placed Arbalest’s fist on the ground and opened it. Holding his breath, he watched as Kaname took a few tentative steps, and then slid down one metal finger to the ground.
Sousuke contacted the Mithril radio man.“Get Miss Chidori into one of the vans. Leave as soon as possible. We have company.” Looking on a screen showing a long range camera shot, Sousuke saw a large number of flashing lights heading in their direction. Kisarazu might be relatively impoverished, but that didn’t mean that it lacked a sizeable and operation police force and fire brigade.
“Al, engage ECS. We will proceed to the pick-up point, awaiting the lift helicopter. After that, you will return to Da Daanan while I see to Miss Chidori’s condition.” Sousuke switched his communication frequency to that of Sgt. Verwilghen hoping that Marc had not been one of the few serious casualties he caught word of.
“This is Verwilghen,” a voice said over the cockpit intercom. “You’re one lucky guy… you know that?” The Belgian chuckled. “I don’t mean about Miss Chidori. She seems to be in good health, but boy does she have a mouth on her! You’re a braver man than I thought. What I mean is… that metal monster of yours looks like a lot of fun!”
“Sergeant, by…” The A.I. was interrupted.
Sousuke had no doubt what the A.I. was going to ask: ‘monster’.
“Do not interrupt conversations. Be quiet!” He switched back over to Marc again. “What is the arrangement? Will you be the one meeting me at the pick-up point?”
“Yes,” the other Sergeant answered. “One of the other vans will carry off the wounded and dead. The others will take Miss Chidori to a designated safe house. By the time they arrive in Tokyo, her father and sister should be there as well.
“Good. We will be on our way. Tell Miss Chidori that….” A loud amplified voice cut Sousuke off. It came through a speaker on one of the heavy lifting cranes.
“DID YOU REALLY THINK THINGS WOULD BE THAT EASY?”
After the echoes from the last ominous word died down, lights on the crane and the nearest moored ships went on. Shortly thereafter, huge cargo bay doors slowly began opening.
As the Mithril soldiers hurried Kaname to the nearest van, Sousuke watched as one of multiple Venom class Arm Slaves pulled itself up onto the deck of a freighter.
“It appears that we have more work to do.” The A.I. spoke while Sousuke pushed the A.S.’s power from ‘cruise’ back up to ‘military’.
“Affirmative.”
Everything was suddenly pitch black.
Kaname tried to slow down, after sprinting down one row. Unable to see, she misjudged the remaining distance and slammed hard into something. Fortunately, it was a large roll of blankets, meaning that the only thing that had been significantly hurt was her pride.
“Great.”
That was the second time she had fallen hard on her rump. Not too long before that, she had been knocked unceremoniously on her kiester by Sousuke, whose behavior caught her completely by surprise. She realized that it had been part of a ploy. Just the same, he would pay.
The sound of a machinegun firing casued Kaname to through herself randomly to one side. She was lucky that she had moved when she did.
“Ahh!”
Bullets flew past her unseen, thudding into the mildew-covered blankets. More than one strand of her hair had been struck by the passing projectiles.
Glancing quickly behind her, Kaname caughta glimpse of an eerie red line. It was the sensor of an Arastol! Of course, the blasted machine could see in the dark. And, its actions suggested that she was someone to be killed, not captured. Wonderful.
Scrambling on all fours for a moment, she straightened up and ran along the edge of one row of crates, hoping she wasn’t headed towards a dead end. Literally. Once again, she wondered why her teenage years had to be spent like this, running, stumbling, and falling in total darkness, with a homicidal robot on her trail.
Other girls would be home now,…eating a late supper… working on homework… talking with their girlfriends on the phone… or maybe even out on a date with someone special.
“Oww!”
Kaname ran hard into a stack of huge empty barrels, ones which could be filled with clean fresh water and moved to areas of need in a crisis. The loud din of a collapsing pyramid was accompanied by the sound of bouncing hollow drums. Maybe that would slow the robot down just enough for her to make her way to another row.
No such luck. The clanging noise she heard marked the spot where a leaping Arastol had landed. Subsequently, a number of shots were fired from its arm rifle. One grazed her ear, causing her to gasp in shock. Another bullet ripped through her skirt, just missing her leg.
“It’s only a matter of time, Miss Chidori. But, by all means, keep running.” It was that damn voice again. How Kaname hated that man. She wished that she could get the chance to wrap her hand around his neck and squeeze the life out of the jerk!
She banged her knee hard against something metal. “Ouch! Damn it Sousuke, where are you!” As she limped along as quickly as she could, dodging in random fashion from one side of the row to another, she heard a familiar sound. It was that big gun she had heard at the airport. Sousuke! He was still alive. And, he must be able to see in the dark.
See in the dark? Right. That was good for another black mark in her book. Not only had he knocked her down, but he hadn’t bothered to give her any night vision gadgets.
“Just you wait, soldier.”
Once again, good fortune embraced Kaname. Tripping over something thin, long, and wooden, she slid along the floor, scraped by the roughened concrete. But, had she remained upright, she would have been dead or severely injured. Unknown to her, an Arastol had hefted a large heavy portable generator and thrown it with all of its inhuman strength. It hit the floor with a loud sound and bounced numerous times.
“That was a close one, Miss Chidori. It shouldn’t be much longer now. It’s really quite exciting, seeing watching your terrible plight. Your intrepid boyfriend is no better off. The only question remaining is, who dies first? I have my money on you.”
Kaname couldn’t help herself. Even as she fought to hold on to what might be her last moments of life, she had to make her feelings know
“JERK!”
It truly irritated her, being entertainment for some sicko, who must be watching her with some kind of advanced technology incorporated into the robots or secreted throughout the warehouse.
The noise behind her meant that the Arastol had closed the distance between them. She fully expected to feel its cold steeling fingers grasp her around the neck, just before it snapped her spine in two. Either that, or hear one final burst from its machinegun. But, there was a much louder sound.
Without her knowledge, Arbalest had been waiting until she and Sousuke had both moved away from its chose point of entry. After weakening the roof and walls with concentrated 12.7mm fire from the head-mounted chain guns, the A.S. grasped the corrugated metal side walls of the building and began making its way inside. Immediately thereafter, it launched the first in a series of salvos, sending bright flares throughout the enclosure.
“WHAT! NO! NO NO NO NO NONONONONO-O-O-O-O…“
Sousuke’s and Kaname’s unseen tormentor was clearly flabbergasted.. Things were not going the way he had planned.
“HE’S NOT IN THAT MACHINE! HOW….”
Arbalest did not need Sousuke in the pilot’s chair. The A.I. had more than enough capability to act on its own accord, under certain limitations. Sousuke had given it all the input it needed, and continued to give orders even as he fought for his life.
“ALL FORCES, KILL THE HUMAN CAPTIVES. DESTROY THEM. NOW!”
Sousuke wished that he could locate and capture the mysterious enemy. But, there was no telling where he might be, and there were more important things to take care of first.
“Locate Miss Chidori. Careful pick her up and shield her from any enemy threats. That is your first priority.” Sousuke exhausted one clip of 25mm ammunition, taking down the first of a number of Arastols rushing towards him. Watching, he saw shots from the ARX-7s 57mm shot cannon decimate the remainder. “I told you that Kaname Chidori was first priority!”
A single shot from the Arm Slaves portable cannon echoed throughout the intact areas of the structure. The robot closing on Kaname was torn to pieces. A small amount of shrapnel fragments peppered her bottom, causing nothing worse than bruises and shallow abrasions.
“I told you, save Kaname first!” Sousuke ran towards the A.S. “Scan the room for any potential snipers or other obvious foes. Open the hatch if you don’t see any immediate threats to Miss Chidori or myself.”
“Affirmative. Don’t humans usually say ‘thank you’ when others do them a service?” The A.I. in the ARX-7 paused as the large mechanical head turned, spraying projectiles along a peripheral catwalk. “As my operator, I must assign you high priority. The situation required triage. Your situation was most likely to result in death. The shot against the girl’s pursuer was a simple one, with some time to spare.”
Bringing up the shot cannon, the A.S. destroyed a number of sentry guns and blew in the windows of a small observation booth. Moving swiftly, it stepped over Sousuke, flattening a pair of Arastols under its huge foot.
“I have told you, no human talk! If you wish to be treated like a human, then make it a soldier. And if you are to act like a soldier… follow orders!” Sousuke grimaced as a bullet struck him in the shoulder, giving him a shallow wound. “Shit! Do your job!”
“Affirmative. That one had been hidden.” A shot from the portable cannon took out one of the remaining human snipers. “Following your orders.” The Arm Slave made a low leap, brushing against the girders spanning the roof area, before stradling Kaname’s position when it laded. A small number of rolled up sleeping bags were dislodged, roiling down to hit just in front of her.
“Sousuke! If you’re in there!” Kaname shook her fist up at Arbaslest. “Hey. No. What are you doing? Not this again!” Kaname shook her head when the ARX-7 placed its open palm near her. Reluctantly, she jumped on, remembering a time when Sousuke had thrown her high into the air, in order to shout any enemy helicopter, before catching her on the A.S.’s hand.
“It would be advisable to remain still.” The A.I. voice came through the external speakers. Slowly, the great hand curled around Kaname, just in time. A number of human soldiers and one half dozen Arastol opened fire, even though their weaponry had no chance of seriously injuring the Arm Slave.
“Partner!” Sousuke’s shout was meant for the Arm Slave. “Pinpoint my position and fire near the wall, thirty feet away from me, South by Southwest. Now!”
A number of robots that had been fighting Mithril troops outside of the building had been given orders to enter the building and kill any and all expendable humans. ‘Expendable’ meant anyone who wasn’t wearing transmitter badges of the type worn by all high-ranking members of the organization.
The soldiers allied with the Arastols would have to deal with the consequences.
“Firing.” Arbalest spun quickly, knocking over huge numbers of crates and containers. Unable to get a visual sighting on the Arastols, it fired as directed. “Request target correction as necessary.” Not hearing an order to stop firing, the A.S. pumped a second volley into the area, as it began to move forward, plowing through large shelving units. “Comfirmation would be helpful.”
“Be quiet!” Sousuke jumped behind a stack of plastic-wrapped generators, caught by surprise by one of the robots. It was different than those that he had fought previously. One mechanical hand folded back to expose a hollow tube, the automaton shot out a number of ball-like objects. Grenades. “Act before talking!”
The Arastol ran through the cloud of dust and burlap fragments that were kicked up by its explosives. About to turn its arm rifle on Sousuke, it shuddered when a 25mm round took it in the center of its sensor. As it ceased to function, a pair of its intact brethren leaped over its metal and plastic carcass, preparing to kill their human opponent.
A huge arm swept across the storage area, displacing boxes and rolls of material. The closed hand struck the Astarols, flinging them hard against the warehouse wall. As the resilient robots made their way back into a standing position, they disintegrated in a spray of sparks and metal fragments and the A.S. finished them off with the chain gun.
By necessity, the hand that struck the blow was the same one that sheltered Kaname.
Banged against the sides of her temporary enclosure, the young woman was anything but happy.
“SOUSUKE SAGARA!”
“Shit.” Sousuke picked himself off the ground, grimacing from the pain of his shoulder wound. Looking around to be certain there were no nearby threats, he ran towards Arbalest, who had stopped and opened the hatch to the pilot canopy. “I love you, Kaname! Be strong!”
That ought to show her that he hadn’t been driving the damn A.S., right? And, telling her that he loved her ought to improve her mood, ought it not? He sighed when he saw Kaname poke her head between the ARX-7’s fingers.
He knew that look…only too well.
“You’ll find out how strong, mister!” Kaname watched as Sousuke climbed up Arbalsest and sat in the control chair. “Now, get us out of this place already!” Her face softening considerably, she called out, wanting to say one more thing before the hatch closed. “I love you too, you big idiot!” Thinking back to a day long ago, she remembered Tessa ordering him to turn off the external sensors. “You better not turn off those sensors. I’m not through with you yet!”
“Be quiet!” Sousuke realized his mistake immediately. He had gotten used to replying to the A.I. and had responded to his girlfriend accordingly. “Uhhh… I mean…”
“Just you wait…” Kaname’s voice was quite low, but was still audible to the sensors. “Just…… you…… wait…”
“She seems angry,” the A.I. observed. “She too did not express thanks at her rescue. It is curious. You expressed a feeling of love to her, and she returned the sentiment verbally. However, her subsequent actions are at odds with her statement. Does that mean that your rude and cursory exclamations towards me are a reflection of our closeness? Are you equally fond of me, Sergeant?”
“Be….” Sousuke caught himself. “Never mind.” There was no time to satisfy the machine’s inquisitive nature. “Assuming full control. Begin a scan of the grounds and waterfront. Notify me of the precise position of Mithril troops and any enemy that they are engaged with.
A spattering of machine gun fire ricocheted off of the ARX-7’s forearm. Performing a quick search, Sousuke identified a group of Arastols that had kept a number of Mithril soldiers pinned down. With a few deft movements, he brought up Arbalest’s shot cannon and dispatched the pugnacious robots.
“Sousuke!” Kaname’s voice came in loud and clear. “Sousuke, do you hear me?”
“Yes, Kaname. I hear you.” Sousuke’s voice carried through the area outside the mangled building. “I am busy at the moment.” Kneeling the A.S. quickly, he placed its hand between a number of his teammates and a cluster of firing Arastols. Standing the machine up again, he had it trample the robots within easy reach, and then kicked a number high into the air, targeting them one at a time with his external weapon.
“It looks like you are just playing, Sousuke!” Apparently Kaname didn’t care much for Sousuke’s improvisation. “Why don’t you find that bastard who captured me and ruin his day like he ruined mine!”
Sousuke had opened his mouth, about to say that the unseen enemy was ‘relatively low priority’ at the moment. Kaname would have interpreted that to mean that she was low priority.
Wisely, he refrained from answering.
“Perhaps you should tell the girl to be quiet,” the A.I. put in helpfully. “It might be of practical use to order her to cease being a distraction.” The A.I.’s commentary carried through the speakers. The look on Kaname’s face was a sight to see. From her prone position, she kicked hard at one of Arbalest’s fingers, and then gasped when pain shot up her leg.
“DISTRACTION!”
Sousuke was in no mood for this. Not at all. He wanted to find a safe place to put Kaname down, but that would mean leaving the fight while his comrades were still in danger. On the other hand, if the enemy had heavy weaponry in place in the area, Kaname would be a significant risk.
After everything that had gone on that day, his frustration surged.
“Be quiet!” He shouted. “Both of you!” Frowning, he patched an incoming signal into his headset. It was an operational report from his fellow Mithril soldiers. They had struggled against a fair number of Arastols and human fighters, but had managed to contain or destroy a majority of the combatants. The nearby building also seemed to be under enemy control.
“A.I., activate all sensors, no limits. Full reconnaissance mode.” Even before Sousuke had finished that order, threat detector flashed to life on Arbalest’s console. He cursed, feeling a bit dizzy. He wondered how much of that was stress, and how much might be related to blood loss.
“Warning. We have incoming missiles,” The A.I. announced. “Three, targeting us.” The A.S. leaped high into the air, avoiding the first missile. Its gun came around and fired, as Sousuke picked up the second missile in flight. The third missile was heading directly at the ARX-7.
Sousuke and the A.S. had little to fear from one such missile. Kaname, however, was at great risk. The team of man and machine reacted flawlessly, without conscious thought or command. Dropping the 57mm cannon, Arbalest held up its free hand. The Lambda Driver started, and drove a force field directly in front of them all. The warhead detonated without causing damage.
“Success,” the A.I. said. “We have avoided or destroyed all missiles. The Lambda Driver functioned perfectly again.” The voice paused. “As I have stated in the past, we have reason to be confident. Such awareness helps to raise one’s spirits.”
“Shut up!” Sousuke had no time for a garrulous machine. There could be more missiles in that building. “You will concentrate on the mission at hand! I want you to assist me with your full attention. We will use the special abilities to destroy the next warehouse.” By ‘special abilities,’ he meant using the Lambda Driver as an offensive weapon.
“Now you know what it’s like, having to deal with a moron!” Kaname shouted, having been able to overhear the conversation again. “Serves you right! Hmmmpppfff!”
“Training question, Sergeant.” The A.I. spoke as Arbalest leaped skyward. “By ‘moron’, does she mean me?” The craft landed with a jarring impact, knocking aside a small supply truck in the process. “What level of cognitive ability would I need before I would no longer be classified in that manner?”
“Guess!” Sousuke brought up one arm of the A.S., while keeping the other safely behind the main body. As he tried to imagine the effect he wanted, the building force field blocked a series of explosions. He wasn’t certain what they might have been, missiles exploding on launch… weapons stores… or some kind of self-destruct mechanism.
Concentrating, the young soldier forged the force field into a thin and broad plane of shimmering, and then swept it through the remnants of the building like a scythe. Huge chunks of steel, cinderblock walls, and corrugated steel flew this way and that.
“Analysis complete. Do you wish to hear my conclusion?” The A.I.’s question had Kaname laughing. In some ways, the voice and words reminded her of Sousuke, back in the days after he had first arrived at the school. Suddenly, her laughter stopped. It was great to be alive… but, when all was said and done, what had really changed.
If the danger was finally over this time, when would the next time be? More important, as soon as she rejoined her father and Ayame, why should she expect that anything would have changed?
“No! No more pointless talk.” Sousuke felt the tension drain out of him, snoting that the second building was now nothing more than a pile of rubble. Gritting his teeth, he repeated the process on the building that Kaname had been held captive in, after he had verified that all of his comrades were at a safe distance.
When a complete scan of the general area showed no evidence of obvious danger, he placed Arbalest’s fist on the ground and opened it. Holding his breath, he watched as Kaname took a few tentative steps, and then slid down one metal finger to the ground.
Sousuke contacted the Mithril radio man.“Get Miss Chidori into one of the vans. Leave as soon as possible. We have company.” Looking on a screen showing a long range camera shot, Sousuke saw a large number of flashing lights heading in their direction. Kisarazu might be relatively impoverished, but that didn’t mean that it lacked a sizeable and operation police force and fire brigade.
“Al, engage ECS. We will proceed to the pick-up point, awaiting the lift helicopter. After that, you will return to Da Daanan while I see to Miss Chidori’s condition.” Sousuke switched his communication frequency to that of Sgt. Verwilghen hoping that Marc had not been one of the few serious casualties he caught word of.
“This is Verwilghen,” a voice said over the cockpit intercom. “You’re one lucky guy… you know that?” The Belgian chuckled. “I don’t mean about Miss Chidori. She seems to be in good health, but boy does she have a mouth on her! You’re a braver man than I thought. What I mean is… that metal monster of yours looks like a lot of fun!”
“Sergeant, by…” The A.I. was interrupted.
Sousuke had no doubt what the A.I. was going to ask: ‘monster’.
“Do not interrupt conversations. Be quiet!” He switched back over to Marc again. “What is the arrangement? Will you be the one meeting me at the pick-up point?”
“Yes,” the other Sergeant answered. “One of the other vans will carry off the wounded and dead. The others will take Miss Chidori to a designated safe house. By the time they arrive in Tokyo, her father and sister should be there as well.
“Good. We will be on our way. Tell Miss Chidori that….” A loud amplified voice cut Sousuke off. It came through a speaker on one of the heavy lifting cranes.
“DID YOU REALLY THINK THINGS WOULD BE THAT EASY?”
After the echoes from the last ominous word died down, lights on the crane and the nearest moored ships went on. Shortly thereafter, huge cargo bay doors slowly began opening.
As the Mithril soldiers hurried Kaname to the nearest van, Sousuke watched as one of multiple Venom class Arm Slaves pulled itself up onto the deck of a freighter.
“It appears that we have more work to do.” The A.I. spoke while Sousuke pushed the A.S.’s power from ‘cruise’ back up to ‘military’.
“Affirmative.”