Chương 186: Book 3 - Chapter 31 - Haymaker

"So you've decided to gather together and hide in the same hole? That's convenient," I muttered as I flicked through the various squirrel feeds. Most of the council members had gathered together at the council building, consolidating their defenses. Although this made it easier for me to find, and apprehend them, it didn't exactly make it easier for me to reach them.

More than half the council's remaining forces had gathered around the building, including a massive superheavy which looked like it had a pair of railguns in the turret. My original plan had been to use the Marsupial, my massive new dropship, to blitz the building with landing pods, and secure the server before anyone was even aware I was there. Something told me it wouldn't be that easy now. Hel glanced over at me. The woman had taken the time to change into her full battle armor.

The top actually looked like a sky blue parka, with fur lined hood, she had matching pants, and a black tech looking helmet. On her back was a small set of tanks, which connected through hoses to a pair of sprayers mounted on both her wrists.

"Issues?" she asked"Complications anyways. Most of the council retreated to the building, and they brought their toys with them," I replied. Quickly gathering up a couple different feeds I shot them to the various displays on the Marsupial's bridge.

"This'll make it easier to gather all these assholes up, but with the extra security there's a good chance they'll try and purge the server before we manage to get to it," I grumbled.

"Then we should split our focus," Hel suggested.

"I'll blitz the server rooms, while Gyrm disrupts internal communications, you handle the defenses and collecting the council members." She looked towards the back of the ship.

"You think I could borrow one of those landing pods to get down there, and a couple bears to back me up?"

"I… have no idea," I admitted.

"They're designed to deploy bears, but I have no idea if a person could survive the ride. Nyx?" One of the bridge bears turned, and straightened up.

"They're not designed for human occupants, and even though they have inertial dampeners, the impact would be enough to break bones and cause trauma if a regular person was riding. However, after consulting with Gyrm I believe your body is sufficiently augmented to survive the ride. Gyrm and I have assembled a small list of purchases that should make the trip more comfortable."

"That's fine," Hel nodded.

"How far are we from the building?" I glanced out the front window, before I remembered we were way above the skyline, then checked navigation.

"We'll be there in two minutes."

"Then I should get prepared. Wish me luck!" Hel jogged back towards one of the pods, popped open the hatch and disappeared inside. Each of the Kinetic Orbital Assault and Landing Apparatus, or KOALA, pods already had a full squad inside so it was probably a tight fit. Turning back to the display and I stared at the superheavy sitting at the entrance of the council building.

"Now what to do about you?" I mumbled.

"Boss, I have an idea," Bob growled from where he was standing at the side of the bridge.

"How about I punch it!" This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"You know the moose have coilguns," I reminded the big bear, "and there are even stronger versions mounted on both the Marsupial and Kodiaks, right? I don't need you to punch every single problem. Especially the vehicle sized ones."

"But I'm exceptionally good at it, and you don't have to worry about anything they have damaging me!" Bob declared proudly.

"Fine," I sighed.

"Do your thing. You're too big to fit in any of the pods, so you'll have to jump out the back. I'll send Heavy and the Moose to back you up." The big bear grinned, threw me a thumbs up, and sprinted towards the back. I slowly raised one hand and gently rubbed my eyes, trying to relieve the rapidly developing headache.

"Heavy, take a 'Devastator' coilgun and join one of the pods, so you can cover that oversized toddler," I said.

"Bandit, please take command of the bears rushing the building, and apprehend those entitled council assholes." The fox shot me a quick salute, and darted towards another pod. Taking a deep breath I turned back towards the bridge consoles.

"Approaching the drop zone," I announced.

"Dropping in, 3. 2. 1." The entire Marsupial rocked as all ten pods simultaneously disconnected from the ship. Sitting down in one of the bridge chairs I closed my eyes and connected to the troops. As the Koalas smashed into the street the council forces were immediately sent into disarray. It was obvious that they hadn't been expecting an attack, never mind a surprise aerial assault.

The bears spilled into the streets, and stormed into the building, quickly overwhelming most of the council's defences within seconds. Most, but not all. The crew of the superheavy reacted extremely quickly. The six machine gun sponsons raked the oncoming bears, and even occasionally their own men, with heavy machine gun fire while the main turret slowly turned towards the nearest Koala. That's when Bob arrived, smashing into the street superhero style.

"Alright, time to…" He didn't even get a chance to finish, as the tank unloaded its first shell directly into his face. I winced as he was sent windmilling down the street by the force of the round. He struggled to his feet just in time for the second round to connect. His spatial anchor prevented him from being thrown the second time, but caused an entirely new problem. Damage warnings flashed through my brain. [Fuck! When you engage the anchor your armor needs to absorb the full kinetic impact of those shots, instead of dissipating them. It's amplifying the amount of damage you take. Disengage it!] I hurriedly ordered the bear.

"If I do that I won't be able to…" Another shell impacted the massive bear, sending him tumbling away. That fucking tank apparently had autoloaders. [Just keep it focused on you, Heavy will deal with it!] I told Bob. Plodding down the steps of the council building the moderately sized polar bear in bomb disposal armor slowly headed towards the side of the oversized tank.

As he advanced a small squad of equally large plush moose fell into step behind him, creating a line of slow moving cover for the smaller bears behind them. It didn't take long for the three machine gun sponsons on the tank's left side to all focus in on him, trying to bring him down. They didn't even get him to break his stride. It seemed like the crew of the tank finally realized they were in trouble when Heavy was about thirty feet away.

The machine slowly began to back up, and the turret began to swing towards the little squad. By that time, it was already too late. One of the moose brought its weapon up and fired at the front drive wheel of the tracks, completely devastating the drivetrain and even nudging the tank slightly. Another moose raised its weapon and fired directly into the rear engine compartment. Fire and smoke billowed from the hole it punched right through the side armor, but the little squad wasn't done yet.

Heavy casually walked up to the side of the vehicle, ignoring the machine gun unloading directly into his stomach, placed his weapon against the turret, and fired. The entire tank rocked from the impact, something exploded inside the turret, but that didn't seem to deter Heavy. As soon as the weapon reloaded he fired again, and again. Smoke and discharging electricity erupted from the crippled turret, and the entire tank went silent.

While Heavy slowly, and laboriously, climbed up the front plate of the tank the Moose all took positions around the hull, pointing their weapons at the various sponsons and view ports. Once he was on top, Heavy wandered over to the hatch and knocked.

"I'm only giving you one chance to surrender. Anyone that refuses to get out right now will get a chance to experience first hand just how easily these guns can penetrate your armor, got it?" I broadcast through the bear. Unsurprisingly, the entire crew surrendered at that point. While the moose detained the crew, I had Heavy wander over towards Bob. The poor bear had been knocked quite a ways down the street by the repeated blows. Thankfully he hadn't taken any major physical damage, just a blow to his pride.

"Buck up big bear, you'll get them next time," I said through Heavy.

"I could have had them this time, if you'd let me advance," he moped.

"The day is still young, and we still have work to do," I replied.

"Even though your self repair probably could have allowed you to tank all that, I need you fully functional. Now quit your moping and come on, they need us inside. It's time to greet the former city council."