Chapter 7: Tragedy “Ben, what are you doing?” Nick called out over the radio as he brought the Bronco towards the Legionnaire. The last of the Invid gone, he and Sarah turned their attention towards the suddenly still destroid. “Ben?” He called again over the radio. The Legionnaire stood still for a second more, then suddenly and swiftly turned to face the hovering Bronco. Three missiles leapt from the external launcher on its left side, streaking up towards the Bronco with incredible speed. Nick jetted the Bronco backwards as he thrust the arm cannon towards the oncoming missiles and sprayed them with ammunition, setting off all three in a large explosion just in front of him. The Legionnaire Suddenly appeared through that explosion, jump jets still firing, barging into the Bronco with its left shoulder and sending it hurtling towards the ground. Nick fought with the controls to stabilise the Bronco, barely managing to fire the backpack jets just before the Bronco slammed into the ground, righting it. The legionnaire twisted in mid-air, turning to face the Bronco’s back and firing it’s autocannon from above and behind. Nick skipped the Bronco to one side, and spun his mecha as the Legionnaire landed. A volley of laser blasts suddenly struck out from the barely-standing Bioroid, striking the Legionnaire on its arm and the side of its torso. Mostly ignoring the light shots, its spun its torso to the side and opened up the left-side missile rack, loosing all twelve warheads at the Bioroid. Dovak leapt back and spun the Bioroid to the side, managing to avoid half the missiles, but the rest followed true to course, striking the Bioroid all over its body. A massive explosion in mid-air obscured the Bioroid, and its shattered body fell to the ground. The strike Garland approached the Legionnaire, as Sarah implored its pilot over the radio. “Stop this, Ben, please stop it!” she cried out to him. Her response came as the Legionnaire’s head turned to stare straight at the small mecha, and the torso gun swivelled in perfect sync. “Sarah! No!” cried out Nick desperately as the Legionnaire fired. With a hollow ‘thump,’ a large shell spiralled lazily out of the cannon, and sped straight towards the Strike Garland. Sarah bought up the shield to defend herself, but her mecha’s arm seemed to be moving through treacle. A huge explosion blossomed out as the shell impacted against the Garland’s shield, simply vaporising it and the underlying arm. It tore through the structure of the Garland and sent it flying, hurling it back towards the command bunker which it unceremoniously crashed against, then dropped to the ground like a flung rag doll. “No!” cried Nick, as he stepped the Bronco towards the wreckage of the Garland, but then suddenly lifted it off into the air as a burst from the Legionnaire’s autocannon smashed into the ground where he had been. The Legionnaire fired its jump jets and sprang towards the Bronco. Nick, prepared for this trick, darted the Bronco to its right and turned to face the Legionnaire as it passed him. The Legionnaire, however, spun its grenade launcher to its limit and fired, catching the Bronco in the shoulder. As the Bronco crashed to the ground, the Legionnaire landed behind it, turned, and started stalking towards it. Nick pulled the Bronco to its knees and turned the sensor head, just as the Legionnaire fired another burst from its massive Autocannon at him. Nick rolled the Bronco to the side, dodging blast that cratered the already heavily damaged surface of the once proud base. He got the mecha to its feet, then lifted off into the air as a pair of heavy missiles streaked towards the Bronco, and blasted the ground where it was less than a second ago. Sarah climbed out of what was left of her mecha, and ran over to the Bioroid. The chest panel was open, but the clamshell cockpit still fully sealed. Wiping her own blood out of her eyes, she tried desperately to wrench it open. Please let him be alive! She cried out in her mind as she desperately struggled with the hatch. A sudden explosion made her look up. The Bronco, smoke pouring from its chest fell from the sky and crashed on top of a bunker, caving it in. The Legionnaire closed its missile hatches, and advanced on the downed mecha. Nick pleaded over the radio. “Please Ben, why are you doing this?” He received no answer, and try to switch over to visual communications, if at least to see his former ally. The legionnaire took a final step towards the Bronco and stood over its prone form. The mecha raised the huge autocannon clutched in its metallic talons, and pointed it straight towards the mecha’s cockpit. Nick froze in place. He desperately reached for the Bronco’s controls, but couldn’t make his hand move. All he could do was look in horror. An image suddenly flashed into his mind, of a woman being attacked. Three muggers. Her friend, beaten to the ground. He was standing there in front of them, frozen. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t even twitch a finger. The man on the ground looked up at him. His face a mixture of a pleading look and a withering glare of contempt. The man standing in the mecha in front of him. Ben! A sudden noise shook him out of his reverie. A second noise, the same, a laser shot, rang out from across the compound. A third, accompanied by a flash from near the damaged Bioroid. Sarah, in desperation to keep Nick alive, was firing her LP nightstalker at the monster standing over the Bronco. It turned its torso towards her, head and grenade launcher once again twisting in macabre unison. Nick’s hand involuntarily hit the screen controls, and finally cut to an image of the Legionnaire’s pilot. Ben sat there in the seat, pale and slack-faced, jaw slightly open and a vacant look on his face. He moved the controls with rigid precision. Nick stared into his eyes and found nothing there, an empty pit which betrayed no emotion or reason. Just like when we fought in the rec room, Nick thought, and like those soldiers Sarah told me about. My gods, it’s the Invid! Suddenly realising that Ben was beyond saving, his thumbed a fire button on his joystick. Two missiles leapt up from the Bronco’s hips, one smashing into the elbow of the Legionnaire’s left arm. The other was more rewarding, and it struck the exposed chest of the mecha, right in front of the cockpit. The Legionnaire suddenly twisted back towards him, more startled than damaged, but showing clear signs of the latter. The smoke blew away as it bought the autocannon to bear, revealing a gaping hole in its chest bin front of the reinforced pilot’s compartment. Nick thrust the Bronco’s left arm up and fired both pulse lasers. They blazed away like crazy, sending pulses of light straight into its chest. Explosions rippled all throughout the Legionnaire’s interior, chest and back. A large fireball engulfed the mecha’s head, and another ripped through the intake on its back. The husk of the Legionnaire stood till for a second as the laser pulses ripped straight through its body, then it pitched backwards and lay spread-eagled on the ground. Sarah ran over to the wreckage as Nick climbed out of the bronco’s cockpit. Blood was smeared on her forehead and matted in her hair, and her jumpsuit was torn and stained red on the left arm. As she approached, Nick could see tears welling in her eyes. “Ben?” she asked, her voice wavering. Nick took her in his arms and simply said “I’m sorry.” Sarah started sobbing on his shoulder. “I had no choice. He was like those soldiers at the Invid hive,” he said, trying to explain his actions to both of them. Sarah pulled back and wiped the tears from her eyes. “I know how you felt about him. I’m sorry,” he said again. She avoided looking at him, and closed her eyes. Nick pulled her closer again, and she rested her head on his shoulder. He looked over the wreckage of the base. He could see a rescue crew were pulling Dovak out of the Boiroid’s remains. David approached the two of them. He cleared his throat, and Sarah suddenly opened her eyes. She pulled away from Nick, then stood straight to attention upon seeing David. “No, at ease,” he said. And saw Sarah relax. “I’m sorry this had to happen,” he said, “but I’m afraid we’ve got no time to mourn. When this patrol doesn’t return, the Invid will be out in force. Are stores are almost exhausted and the base is a wreck.” He sighed. “I’m afraid we’ll have to abandon it.” “But, sir -“ they said in unison, but were cut off. “No arguments,” he barked, “there’s almost a hundred lives to be taken into consideration here. I know we don’t want to lose it, but it would be suicide to stay here.” “Permission to stay behind and attack the Invid, sir,” Nick suddenly interjected. “Are you crazy?” yelled Sarah, turning to face him? “Explain yourself, sergeant,” David sharply responded. “If I don’t fly the Bronco while a convoy’s leaving, the Invid will pick it apart without opposition. Even if I do protect the convoy, the presence of a protoculture generator will draw in even more Invid. And we don’t have any vehicles large enough to carry the Bronco, unless it’s dismantled.” “But it’s a suicide mission.” “Not if I can take out the hive.” Both of them were stunned for a second. David then spoke up. “What you’re saying is madness.” “I know sir, but it’s our best chance.” The convoy trucks were all loaded and starting to pull away. Dovak had been loaded, injured but alive, into one of them, and was going to pull through. Nick sat in the Bronco’s cockpit, squatting on the tarmac in Guardian mode, running his final systems check. The technicians had done their best to repair and reload the Bronco, and it had two spare surprises sitting on the wings. A pair of high- powered experimental energy cannons that could blast through, “just about anything,” or so the tech boys said. Problem was energy storage: each could only hold enough power for two rounds. Down below, he saw Sarah running towards the Bronco. He climbed out of the cockpit and met her on the tarmac. “What are you still doing here?’ he demanded of her. “I just had to say good luck and, well, goodbye,” she responded. “Hey, don’t talk like that. I’ll pull through. You know I always do.” Sarah looked down quietly. “Hey,” he continued, “when you find somewhere to stop, take care of Dovak and David for me. The guy’s sure to go potty sooner or later.” Sarah couldn’t help but smirk. “If not already, you mean,” she added. Nick ran a hand through her hair, and looked up at the sky. “Yeah, something like that.” He then put his hands on her cheeks and raised her head to look at him as he looked down at her. “Look, I really need to say that I -“ he paused, then let out a deep breath. “Well, I’m not going to say it here, like this. But I’ll tell you when I catch up with you.” Nick then turned and climbed up the retractable ladder to the Bronco’s cockpit. When he was half way up, he heard Sarah say behind him, “I feel the same.” He climbed into the bronco’s cockpit, and started up the engines. Sarah stood back as the Bronco raised into the sky. Nick hovered it over the remnants of the base as he made sure the last of the trucks pulled away, then set off towards the hive. Already he could see the Invid mecha speeding towards him. He changed into fighter mode for extra speed, and blazed away with his autocannon. It blasted one of the scouts, and he tore past the other as he sped towards the hive. It turned behind him, and started to follow. That’s got their attention, he thought, as the scout fired at his rear. He dodged the burst from its cannons, then manoeuvred himself squarely in front of the scout. Before it could take advantage of his position, he flicked it into guardian mode and shot the Bronco’s legs out in front of him. He shot down and back, placing him right behind the scout. He fired the cannon again, scoring shots all over its underbelly. The scout exploded in mid-air, and he drove the Bronco back into Fighter mode to resume course. He shot towards the hive and marvelled in its ugliness. A huge red dome squatted over the landscape, with black tendrils snaking out over the ground around it. Groups of Invid were beginning to swarm out of it, undoubtedly to hunt him down. So my little distraction worked, he thought. He tore down towards one of the newly emerged groups, mostly little pincer ships but with some shock troopers scattered amongst them. They were poring out of a wide-open hole in the wall. An easy entrance he thought at he flicked the Bronco into its Guardian form and fired off three hip missiles at them. They spread out in amongst the clump of Invid, and Nick was satisfied to see three secondary explosions spread out through the group. He stayed back from them, and blazed away with his arm cannon at the dispersing group. He took down a Shock Trooper under a hail of rounds, and it’s husk crashed against a formerly invisible force field barring the entrance. Damn that, he thought, but had no time to ponder it, as a group of Invid were coming around behind him. Dodging energy blasts, he twisted around and raked them with cannon fire, damaging many and destroying two pincers. He spun around again, and switched into Guardian mode. He flew towards the entrance and fired both of the energy cannons. Their shots discharged on the energy field, rippling the air in the opening with crackling energy. I hope that means it’s down, he thought, as he plunged down towards it. He shot through the opening without interference, and let out his breath in relief. There has to be some kind of power generator or something, he thought, turning left down a passageway. Three shock troopers suddenly shot towards him, blasting like crazy. He twisted the Bronco wildly to avoid the shots, but took one in the leg. The Bronco shuddered but remained stable. He fired his three remaining missiles, locking one on each Shock Trooper two of them were destroyed by the hit, but the third took it to the shell and kept coming at him. It bore down on the Bronco, claws raised, but Nick kicked the Bronco’s legs up in a desperate attempt to ward it off. The thrusters blazed straight in the Shock trooper’s face, forcing it back with little actual damage. Nick flipped the Bronco over as it changed into battloid mode, and bought the mecha’s fist up into the Shock Trooper’s sensor eye. It collapsed to the ground, and Nick flew over it. He reached a side passage heading towards the center of the hive. That’ll be where the generator is, he thought, and turned towards it. He flew down the corridor with surprisingly no resistance. Up ahead he saw an opening into a huge chamber, in the middle of which was suspended a huge sphere, throbbing with energy. That must be it! he thought, and headed straight towards it. The Bronco’s sensors detected something behind him, and he twisted his mecha aside just as a pair of energy beams raked the floor next to him. He spun the bronco around and came face to face with the blue finned enforcer. Right, this is where you get yours! He surged forwards, firing his cannon. The enforcer flew forwards as well, ignoring Nick’s shots as they bounced of its thick armour and fired its two small plasma cannons. They raked across the Bronco’s armour, doing only minor damage. Nick fought with the controls as the Bronco reeled from the attack, and managed to stabilise it. The enforcer surged forwards, and swung its huge claws upwards, tearing a huge chunk off the Bronco’s chest and knocking it to the floor. It then landed in front of him. He brought the Bronco’s right arm up to bring the cannon to bare, but the enforcer was faster than him. It brought both of its heat cannons down on the one arm, smashing through the armour and structure as if it wasn’t there, leaving only a stump of an arm above the elbow. Nick saw the cannons warming up again, and rolled the Bronco to its side in a desperate attempt to avoid the shot. The beams seared the ground where the Bronco had just been, and Nick rolled the Bronco back onto its back. as he did, he grabbed the laser cannon of its left wing in the Bronco’s huge hand. He brought it up just as the enforcer readied to fire again - - and felt a crushing presence on his mind. Blackness was creeping in on his vision and his thoughts being constricted. This must be the Invid’s power, he thought, as he desperately struggled against his frozen body. He reached for the controls - - and blasted the huge Invid mecha straight through its sensor eye. The blast shot straight through it, and sprayed green glop over the corridor behind it. It wavered in place, then collapsed in front of the Bronco. He suddenly felt the crushing presence gone from his mind, as the last of the glop drained from the Invid commander’s husk. Nick’s victory was, however, short lived as he saw another group of pincer ships flying down the corridor. Looking up and behind the bronco, he could clearly see the Invid power core. If I can take this out… he thought as the scouts tore towards him. He grabbed the second beam cannon, aimed it up behind him, and fired. Sarah stared vaguely out of the passenger’s window of the truck, trying desperately not to think of anything. Why’d he have to be so damn brave, she thought. They had seen some Invid back near the hive, but they’d all gone inside it again. His distraction worked, but… Sarah thought glumly. She then heard a low rumbling sound, more a feeling then a noise, but it rose in volume. Looking back at the hive, she saw gouts of flame emerging from it. The whole structure was then consumed in a massive orange fireball, illuminating the night brighter than daytime. As the sound began to die off, Sarah turned her head back into the truck, as tears began to well in her eyes. But the sound did not die off completely. Over the fading explosion, she began to hear a low rumbling noise. It grew louder as the source seemed to get closer. Hoping, praying in her heart that she knew what it was, she flung open the passenger door and jumped out onto the dirt beside the road. The truck pulled up next to her, but she didn’t notice as she saw the source of the noise streak overhead. It was unmistakably the Bronco, damaged though it was. As it flew overhead, it banked to the right so Sarah could see Nick clearly in its cockpit, left hand on the flightstick and right hand held up, giving Sarah the thumbs-up as he flew ahead.