Chương 113: Chapter 112 – Aquatic Ingress

Cole held on to the side of the boat as it rode the waves through the outskirts of the city. The steady drone of the motors filled the air as the skyscrapers loomed higher on either side of them. Most of the structures were ruined in some way, torn by element or monster or automaton war. Many parts of the city were overgrown with foliage, and what Cole had originally taken to be another island in the distance resolved into a lush mountaintop with thick foliage above the waterline.

Underneath the waves, Cole could see the flooded streets and avenues, and the tops of sunken cars. Occasionally, he even caught shadowy figures marching under the water, who turned glowing red pinpricks of light up. Hextant's forces were marching through the sea to siege the city from multiple angles wherever the rogue computer thought it could challenge the remaining vestiges of humanity here. One of the SWCC crewmates cupped a hand to his ear, listening intently to a call.

He turned around and said something to Chief Dabir. Dabir, in turn, looked at Cole.

"Big Brother's got hostiles engaging remnant forces along our route. Looks like you might be getting off early after all," he said. Overhead, Cole caught a flash of sunlight on metal. The drone tracked their progress from the oil derrick FOB into the city. It was good to have access to airborne assets again. Almost made this feel like an Earth operation—other than the post-apocalyptic partly submerged city. Cole looked out at the city.

"We're supposed to link up with survivors, right? How close can you get us to that fight?"

"Son, we could plow right through it. But we don't even know if these guys are the ones you're looking for. You sure that's the play?" Cole shook his rifle, which had apparently fallen asleep during the boat ride. It sent a pang of annoyance but stiffened again as whatever mechanism it used to regain rigidity resumed. Cole offered it a loose round as a peace offering, which it snagged with a small tendril. Roxy shot him a blegh look.

"At least mine doesn't bleed," he scolded before turning back to Dabir.

"From what I can tell, there's only one thing that really matters to these people, and that's whether you're made of metal. Could be busting up some tin soldiers could be just what we need to get in with the locals. Doubly so if we bail them out from a pinch." Chief Dabir pulled his microphone close and keyed his radio. After a brief exchange, he tapped the pilot and pointed off to the side.

"Swing that way!" The boat lurched as the driver swung their nose around, heading down a narrower side street. The second boat with Howie, Alexa, and Besson turned to follow. Nona tapped Cole on the shoulder.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Hextant is speaking," she said.

"I can feel its voice in the Lewis Field. But it's pained." Cole quirked an eyebrow.

"I don't hear anything. Is this because you're a Lewis Field native?" Nona nodded.

"And a deific caster. We're sensitive to the governing entities of the fields. He's… welcoming us. I think. It's like he's sending conflicting messages."

"Well," said Cole, "That's better than Dallemonte's greeting, at least."

"Maybe not," said Nona.

"I don't think Banish will work on our team members. Not if Hextant has opened his demesne to us. I won't be able to send someone home if there's an emergency." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

"I'll keep that in mind," said Cole. He caught the far-off pop-pop of small arms being exchanged, and the deep rumble of an explosion.

"Get ready. We're getting close. Just like we drilled, right?" Nona nodded. Roxy hefted her shield. Chief Dabir continued directing the pilot based on their overhead eyes. More derelict buildings created tighter avenues as they penetrated deeper into the city. Cole spotted a pair of silhouettes in a busted out structure, tracking their progress.

"Two pacs, three o'clock, high," he called.

"Second floor from the top." The pintle mounted mini-gun operator twisted that way.

"Hostile?" Asked Dabir, shading his eyes from the sun.

"Don't think so," said Cole. They passed abeam and Cole saw the two figures speaking into what must have been a radio. One of them waved, giving away their own position and pointing in the direction of the gunfire. Roxy waved back.

"Guess that confirms your theory about team skin and team tin," she said.

"Let's hope so," said Cole. After the hero's party on Vael and the Beast Cult and debt collectors in Babel, it would be nice to find otherworld allies, for once. The boat turned again, and when they rounded the corner of a burned-out building, the firefight finally came into view. The elevation increased sharp enough that the street level finally rose above the waterline, and several silvery robotic creatures were pushing against a defensive line of humans.

Some of the humans had heavy shields and melee weapons, while more still behind them had rifles or lobbed cylindrical grenades at the oncoming automatons. The automatons themselves looked more monstrous than Cole had expected. Maybe his head had been filled with sixties sci-fi movie robots, but these weren't so much danger Will Robinson robots with rounded corners and bubble heads as they were fiendish, skeletal warriors with bladed claws supported by two lumbering, 4-legged gun platforms the size of M-ATVs.

As Cole watched, one of the turrets atop the big ones swiveled and blasted an elevated position in one of the structures. The two defenders manning a crew-served weapon vaporized in a cloud of blue plasma. Some of the automatons broke off from the main group, walking, limping, or even rolling, their way back down towards the waterline where the boats would land. Humanoid robots with small arms began to fire down at them, and shots began to impact the water ahead and to the side of the boats.

The crews hunkered down, relying on the boat's protection to shield them from incoming fire.

"Get ready!" Shouted Chief Dabir.

"We're putting on the brakes as late as possible without grounding these things." The engines roared, drowning out all noise from the pilots opening up the throttle. Putting in one final burst of speed towards the asphalt beach kicked up side waves at least a meter above the gunwale. Cole braced himself against the bulkhead ahead of him, watching the road ahead get closer alarmingly quickly. Dabir held up five fingers, counting down on his hand.

When the countdown ended, the pilot cut the primary throttle and slammed on the retardant jets, forward-facing engines meant to bring the SWCC boats to an almost immediate stop. Even with his enhanced strength, Cole strained against the sudden deceleration. The jets kicked up a five-meter tall spray of water ahead of them, obscuring the battlefield, and the pilot swung the boat to the side with practiced ease, letting them drift along-side the beach.

As soon as the wall of water dropped, the forward gunner opened up with the bbbrrrttt of the 7. 62 minigun, while the rear gun started to hammer the bots with the. 50 cal. Several of the advancing automatons burst into scrap under the fire. The side of the boat bumped into the asphalt sloping up out of the water and Chief Dabir gave Cole the thumbs up.

"Dismount!" Shouted Cole. He gripped the side rail and vaulted over the side, splashing down onto the street and making for cover behind a half-submerged car. Roxy landed slightly ahead of him, braced behind her shield with Nona tucking behind her with her stubby carbine. Cole leveled his rifle at a skittering automaton that bounded between two cars further up the street. The tentacles at his shoulder went rigid, and Cole squeezed the trigger.

The weird eldritch rifle performed just as well off-world as it had in the LF range at the DOR compound, spitting heavy rounds as it consumed ammo from the drum underneath. Smoke and metal shavings spewed out the other side of his gun. Several shots hit the robot, tearing through the thing's flank and severing its left arm and most of its left leg. On his left flank, the second boat disgorged Besson, Alexa, and Howie, who sprinted for cover under the fire of the second SWCC crew's mounted weapons.

Besson had his machine gun leveled as he moved, spraying down another of the swift, skittering robots. They didn't seem as eager to go down. Cole swiveled and punched another hole that took it out of commission. Besson shot him a startled look and then sprinted into cover. God damn, thought Cole. His rifle hit like a truck. The gun sent a ping of satisfaction at him, then twitched itself towards a bipedal robot with a red, glowing rifle that was taking aim at Roxy and Nona.

Well, if his own gun wanted to scrap some tin, who was Cole to say no?

"Move up!" he called and centered his reticle center mass on the automaton rifleman.