Chương 51: Chapter 49 - Thunderstruck

"Nyx, warm up the cannon!" I feel like you should do a little preparation, before you do something you'll regret.

"The team is probably being swarmed right now Nyx," I reminded my AI, "so make it quick." Fine. First I recommend you buy the Advanced Munitions and Incendiary Munitions catalogs, so you can maximize the targeted damage and minimize the collateral damage. Then I recommend doing some recon so you actually know where to shoot. I frowned slightly, that did sound reasonable.

"Fine, do I have enough for a recon drone that can look into the tanks?" You can get a cheap one from your robotics catalog for one hundred points.

"Do it then, forget the packaging though." Purchased Mark I Armed Recon Drone - 100 points Points Remaining: 213 Points I watched as a small quadcopter drone appeared on the ground. It was much larger than I expected, and armed.

"Why does it have a gun?" You have Modular Combat Robotics, remember. You'd have to buy access to a new catalog if you wanted an unarmed one. This does allow the drone to defend itself against Model Ones on the way to target.

"Fine." With a quick mental command I sent the drone down the streets towards the farms.

"Why do I need the munitions catalogs?" If you want to target hives, a conventional round from the UHR won't be that effective. It's so powerful that it'll leave a neat hole in any soft targets, and a hive will easily recover from that damage. Advanced Munitions will give you access to timed and cluster shells, so it'll detonate when it gets to the target, and Incendiary Munitions will give you access to various ways to burn the target. I hmm'd.

"I like the sound of that." As I was considering Nyx's suggestion the drone made it to the closest farm; I had it hover next to the nearest window to check the contents. Inside the tank was carnage, I could make out parts of Antithesis but it looked like they'd been put through a blender. There were a few worms there collecting the pieces, but not much else.

"I think we found the first hive the team hit," I said as I surveyed the area.

"That damage is pretty impressive." With the right equipment a Samurai can amplify their damage underwater. I suspect one of your compatriots had a vortex weapon based on the damage patterns. I commanded the drone to rise, showing us the next tank. These tanks were about a hundred and fifty feet in diameter, and the only thing I could see inside was a single Model Three digging through the silt, probably looking for roots.

At one time each of these tanks had been completely stuffed with Kelp plants, now this one was completely bare.

"Ravenous fucks," I muttered. The Antithesis devour everything in their path, and then expand. That's all they know how to do. Nyx replied, quietly. I just sent the drone further upwards. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work! The next two tanks were barren as well, but on the fifth level I found what I was looking for. The hive had grown to pretty much fill the entire tank, pressing against the sides.

I could see dozens of new models being birthed every minute, and dozens of other Antithesis moving in and out to deliver biomass. The central stalk was strange, bulbous, I swear I could even see a face on it. Nyx must have anticipated my question. It looks like they grew this hive out of a Model Twenty-Two, mobile hive units that can harvest biomass and produce new models on the go. It must have rooted here because of the plentiful resources.

"It's disgusting, but it'll serve our purposes." That it will.

"Alright, buy those two catalogs. I assume you have a shell in mind to burn that infestation out?" I asked. Yes, A timed thermite plasma cluster shell.

"Sounds fun." It should instantly boil that entire tank, and may actually burn down into the tank below. I'll do my best to make sure the charge is strong enough to exterminate the hive, but limit other damage.

"That sounds insane." Indeed. You should probably make sure the rest of your team isn't anywhere near that area. The heat is going to be intense.

"Yeah, I know," I grumbled.

"Buy everything we need and get the gun ready." Purchased Advanced Munitions Catalog - 50 points Incendiary Munitions Catalog - 50 points Timed Thermite Plasma Cluster Shell - 10 points Points Remaining: 153 points I watched as the three regular bears I'd bought got busy. One gingerly picked up the shell and carried it over to the UHR, while one of the others climbed into a chair attached to the side, strapped itself down, and started messing with a touch screen.

Meanwhile, the third ran out into the street and started grabbing Antithesis corpses, stuffing them into hatches next to the generators. The entire gun started to hum. I turned away from the spectacle to call Sharron, who answered after a few seconds. [Hey Teddy, still hanging in there?] I frowned. [I feel like I should be asking you that. Every Antithesis in the area converged on your position after that explosion. Impressive, I've seen the aftermath.] [We're fine, we retreated across the scaffolding to farm five, then kept going to six. It was too narrow for the Antithesis to provide much of a threat. We did see that monstrosity down at street level, following us. Thankfully it doesn't look like it can climb.] [So you're good?] I asked, worried. [The Antithesis are still pushing pretty hard, but we're making due. Your bears have been a lifesaver, but they're getting low on ammo.] [I'll ask Nyx if I can share the ammo with you. Just hang in there for a couple minutes, I'm going to try and do something to pull some of the attention off you.] [How? You're not going to do something stupid are you?] I could hear the judgment in her voice. I just turned back to the railgun, just in time to see all the arms swing down with massive force and imbed themselves in the street. The thud echoed through the area. [Teddy…] [It'll be fine, trust me.] The bear in the gunner's seat waved at me, then gave a vague thumbs up motion.

I nodded in response and watched as the bear turned back, the gun's barrel started elevating, zeroing in on the target. [I should be ready in a moment, hopefully this should take some of the pressure off you guys.] Nyx cut into my conversation. You might want to brace yourself. The bear made one last adjustment, then pressed a large red section of the touch panel. There was a flash followed by a thunderous crash, the pressure wave nearly knocked me off my feet.

Out of the corner of my eye I watched many of the windows on the street shatter, raining glass on the surrounding area. I turned towards the farm, only to find the fifth level lit internally by a bright white-blue glow. Steam was pouring out of every opening, and even at this distance I could see the entry hole, mostly because it was vomiting steam and causing a high pitched whistling noise. It took me a few seconds to realise I was still on a call to Sharron. [Teddy, what the fuck was that? Teddy…] I cleared my throat, [That, my friend, was Awesome.]