Metalized Dusk

Alarms blared through the encampments in the Playground, screaming at everyone to hide and take shelter, to grab the nearest person next to them to a safe location; Another attack from the County was brewing near the outer walls, ready to break into the settlement.

Melina had heard the alarms repeatedly since her imprisonment, but knew there wasn’t much she could do for either of the factions; neither to help out the attackers nor to hinder her captors. She felt like a beast with no bite or bark whatsoever.

-” Melina, yell out as hard as you can! Then listen for any peeps, any replies!”, ordered Savan, who was searching wildly through the streets and huts from the small village they were visiting. “ If any people are left behind, we’ll find them, ok?”

The girl was unsure if she should do it, her knees encased on the spot, giving the clopy an empty look. Savan saw that the girl was stuck in a rut, so decided to force the decision on her. “ Here, take this animal and take it to the shelter. “, they yelled out, lading a round, giant rodent in her arms. Melina stared back in confusion- “ What is this…creature? Is this a filthy sewer creature? You can’t do this, I’m a member of the Zin fam…”, but she was cut off by Savan’s pushing a second animal in her arms.

-” I’ll take the third one so you can see where you run. Now let’s go and find their owners!” and she puffed before following the clopy with an irritated mumble.

Right outside the wall next to the village, dust and explosions cracked the silent void of the wasteland. Five C.T.Ds alongside five commando drones and a detachment of humanoid soldiers were splitting in squads, checking the perimeter and setting up traps and other equipment. They knew what the Playground held inside and were quite aware that reckless charges brought doom to the previous attack forces.

-” Like planned soldiers! Once we force them outside, we lure the miner in close contact, while we use suppressing fire to keep the rest at bay!”, ordered the soldiers' large leader. After he finished recapitulating their plan to calm their nerves down, they all yelled affirmatively.

The drones took a kneeling position, aiming their weapons towards a bent, giant black gate; The C.T.Ds hid behind the scraps of rust, except for two, who climbed on the wall above the gate, trying to set up an ambush from above. The soldiers all took a protective stance, keeping a firm grip on their guns, checking the surroundings to not be captured in an enemy’s own ambush. The silence that filled the vacuum after they launched their rockets was maddening to them.

The soldiers slowly moved around, switching between scanning channels one after one in a cascading motion, so when switching to a different channel, another soldier was watching the previous one. Standard maneuver, but it made their nerves act up since nothing showed up on either of them.

-” Captain, it’s been 10 minutes and no move. What sh…”, but before he could even finish his question, a bullet flew right through his head, landing right next to a drone, and exploded in a large electromagnetic blast. It wasn’t strong enough to damage the robot, just disorientate it for a few seconds. While the attackers were busy turning their heads towards the blast, Angie, who launched herself from a hidden pathway from the wall, was already speeding up towards the affected drone. With the boost from her acceleration, she managed to slice the mechanical attacker in one strike, then returned to the gate, which was slowly opening.

-” Shoot! SHOOT THAT THING DOWN!”, ordered a gruff voice from a command center; it was enough to force the dazzled soldiers to recover enough to switch their attention towards Angie. The drones and C.T.Ds were faster, but a barrage of electromagnetic blasts messed up their aims.

-” Nice shooting Chiranis”, Angie complimented her colleague. “ I see that your little sniping division hasn’t only updated their aim, but even their strategies.”

-” No problem Angie. You just keep their attention on the ground my team will strike them with style and precision”, replied the sniper with a sense of pride. He smirked, checking the field, trying to assess the next targets, marking them for both his team and the ones on the ground.” Keep the soldiers in the back, you have your targets. As for the big guys, I marked the best prey for you just now, Vivar.”

As the gate came down, a knightly figure stood behind it, with something pointing outwards. He attached to his right arm a bigger, stationary cannon that didn’t use as much energy as before, in exchange for the obvious drawback. Still, just like when they captured the Playground, he used the element of surprise to destroy a second drone with his cannon.

-” 9 more uses!”, he mentioned, so that everyone knew that his “spears” still had to be used sparingly. Though, right after he finished his shot, the two climbers detached themselves from the wall and landed right next to the open gate. The C.T.Ds then plunged forward and were prepared to cleave Vivar clean open, when two figures appeared from the shadows of the corridor to block the attackers.

-” Nice job you two! Remember, we’re going for the capture of enemy C.T.Ds. The extreme option is only the last one, got it?” Vivar transmitted to the two allies, who once were also on the enemy’s side, before Savan managed to free them from their control. Since then, the two decided to join the defensive force for the new colony.

-” Understood master engineer!”, transmitted the boxy one with a serious demeanor.

-” I’ll try my best, but won’t make any promises.”, replied the second helper in a more jovial manner.

The two managed to drag the ambushers further into the corridor and lock the inner gates behind them, separating them from the attacking forces. From another hidden passage, the sphinx-like cyborg, Sovereign, finished their analysis and pointed out where most of the traps were set. With this information, they used their gatling gun to eliminate half of them, while the sniper team and other human soldiers took care of the rest.

With the field free from the booby traps, the two powerhouses of the Playground made their presence known. Billy, appearing from the shadows as well, used a magnetic grenade to stick a drone in place, ran towards it, and turned to the left side of the drone, before stabbing it with his combat knife. He used his second hand to drag the knife alongside the drone’s belly, cutting wide open and dividing the robot in half.

Angie used her low stature and advanced speed to leave the enemy blindsided, then used the combined strength from her enhanced body and acceleration to one-hit the remaining two drones with her pick-axe. All that was left were the remaining C.T.Ds and three-thirds of the soldiers.

-” That’s enough, retreat”, ordered the person in the command center to the attacking force. “ We can’t risk losing the remaining C.T.Ds as well, so all forces use cover fire to help them run away.”

The soldiers understood that meant giving away their lives for their mechanical fighters, but their options were: death back in the County for insubordination, painful demise in the wasteland, remote detonation, or trying their luck and hope for a quick retreat. All knew what option worked best for them, so all remaining soldiers did as commanded.

In the end, they lost another third of their troops but did succeed in helping the cyborgs get away unharmed or uncaptured.

-” 6 shots remaining”, added Vivar after noticing that all of the attackers had run away. “ Inside, how was it, is everyone alright?”

-” Affirmative master engineer. We lost three of our people while capturing the enemy C.T.Ds and my left arm, but we did as requested. “

-” Three?... Jesus” Vivar went silent for a few while, before continuing his orders. “ Understood. We’ll tell their loved ones. You did well, good job by the way.”