Spring Changes, page 35
Hiroto? Repeat after me.
“One and four shields. Three and two with me! Five and six, missiles.”
They all moved and fell into position. Edward joined my side. “What we doing?” he asked.
“Just stick with me,” I said. “Listen to every word I say, and we’ll get out of this, I promise you.”
He nodded at me, though I saw lines creasing his face. This face to face was real; it gave me the trust I needed to have him with me.
“Ready?” I asked.
“As ever,” he replied.
“When the shields drop and they launch, we’re running for it. Straight down, don’t stop. Till you see me stop.”
“Got it.”
Kyle? Xe said. Don’t.
But I knew. Trust me, I said to her.
The enemy missiles struck, and Dame shouted. “Launch!”
And I ran. The moment the shields were off, I pelted down the field towards the rift, Edward at my side.
I didn’t stop, and neither did he. Grey swirls moved all around us, and the ground changed—there it was. I stopped dead, and Edward nearly ran into my side.
Right in front of us was the eye of the creature.
It struggled with the fact we were right in front of it.
I pulled my sword. “Let hell loose,” I said through to Edward, but he had already targeted it with everything he had.
I plunged my sword in deep, right into the soft wet squelch that was its focus. The laser fire, so close, burned through with ease.
“How did you know?” Edward asked as I sparked my own lasers.
“Hold that thought,” I replied. “All in.”
“I’m all fucking in,” he bellowed back and started to sink to his knees. The creature around us roared, but its health plummeted.
“Eighteen percent,” Edward called.
I felt the weight then, the pressure from outside. This wasn’t quite the same place I’d seen when I was with Yun. The pressure was unbearable. “Hold that laser!”
“Fuck, Kyle.” He struggled.
I reached out with my mech’s hand, grabbed onto him. “We’ve got this,” I said. “Hold that laser.”
I could hear the others faintly on the comms. “Where the fuck did they go!”
“Don’t you dare move!” Dame’s clear voice controlling the panic from the others. “Hold that line.”
Missiles from the enemy overhead sped out towards our team. Hiroto, Xe, get me any scans you can.
On it, I’m mapping the whole area, keep going.
Enemy health is rapidly falling, hold it, Kyle, Hiroto added.
But holding it looked impossible. My kenosi draw struggled, and I was trying to supply Edward as well.
“How do you do it?” he asked, his laser strong but his mech shaking.
“Look inside you, to the team you have,” I replied.
“I . . .” he started. “I don’t know how?”
We have incoming tentacles, Hiroto said. Damn, I feel weird saying that.
As Edward tried to draw even more from me, I struggled.
“Don’t use them,” I said. “They’re here because they trust you, because they want to fight. Open yourself and listen to them. They will help you. I promise.”
I had to detach from him. I needed to move to get those other tentacles or we were doomed.
Edward’s mega stiffened, and I could see the energy flow around him in a very different way.
“That’s it,” I said. “That’s it!”
“I never knew,” he replied. The second volley of missiles sped overhead.
“I need to move. Can you hold on your own?”
The mega started to stand. “You bet we will,” he replied.
His use of “we” gave me confidence. I pushed off with him, and we both stood. Then I turned. The incoming tentacles were much smaller, three of them.
“Twelve is clear,” the comms came through. “Moving to Ten.”
“Thank fuck,” Jose said, then added, “Sorry, command.”
I almost laughed at her but looking at the incoming tentacles, there wasn’t really a reason.
Enemy Health = 12%
We almost had it. Just a bit longer, enough for the others to join us. I drew my sword again. Focussing any other remaining weapons, I locked on one of the slithering shits and launched.
Missiles launching in here was a lot tougher on the mech than in our area of space. It took ten percent off their speed.
They’ll still strike, Hiroto assured.
They did just that, taking out at least that one tentacle.
“Yes!” Edward called. “You can do it!”
Wait, now he was the one encouraging me? Felt so weird.
“If you can hear me,” Xirob’s voice came through to my personal comms, “You best get out—when that thing dies, that rift closes.”
Keep that health report coming in, Hiro, I said.
It’s at ten percent.
When our missiles hit the monster this time, it actually shuddered, and the two tentacles that were heading my way sped up.
“Five percent, and we need to get the fuck out,” I said to Edward.
“Never heard better words,” came his reply.
As the first tentacle came for me, I turned and stepped out of its way, slicing down its side. It hit, but didn’t penetrate its hide.
The second lunged for me, and with one hand, I forced a shield in front of me just in time for it to glance off me and slice the first as it came back for more.
I couldn’t fight both of them. That was clear. They were faster than me. Together they were beyond deadly.
Using both sword and shield, I was able to keep them at bay.
“Kyle, we’re launching everything we have,” Ohara said. “Get ready to run.”
Enemy missiles made their launch, their speed increased by their desperation.
Hiroto, timing?
Seconds, he said.
Enemy Health = 4%
“Edward!” I shouted. “My side, now!”
I felt him moving. The floor rumbled beneath me. Within seconds, we were back to back and both taking on those tentacles. His twin blades whirred, and I had to dance faster to keep out of his way.
The blast of the enemy missiles on our team outside of the rift blasted through to us both, blowing Edward off his feet.
Tentacle Two used it to its advantage and grabbed a hold of Edward’s torso.
Fuck!
I pulled all my kenosi to me, powering my sword with as much draw as I could get to me. I struck the one coming for me. It sliced in two and fell, writhing on the ground, then stopped dead.
Enemy Health = 3%
We have to move! Hiroto screamed at me.
There was no way I was leaving Edward.
I ran to his side as he struggled to get out of its grip. My sword away, I gripped onto it and pulled.
His face came up on my inner screen. “You need to go,” he said. “We ain’t getting out of this.”
“You are!” I said.
I heaved, but nothing was budging.
Enemy Health = 2%
Above me, the mists were receding.
“Kyle, you need to get the fuck out,” Edward said.
“No way!” I screamed. “Section Ten,” I addressed them all. “Focus on keeping that hole open! Any kenosi you have, use it!”
Edward’s face furrowed, and he nodded as the tentacle squeezed. His health dropped within the mega.
“Disband the mega,” I said. “I’m going to use everything I have to pull this thing away from you. Then run!”
“Got it,” he replied.
Instead of using my energy, this time I placed one hand on the creature at our side. The eye glared at me, now bloodshot as its life ebbed.
“You don’t get to do this,” I spat at it. The eye rolled back in its head as I took directly from the creature.
My mega shook with the energy. It wasn’t the kind of kenosi it was used to: this was dark, angry, evil.
“Now!” I shouted to him, and I yanked on the tentacle. It hardly budged, but it was enough. The mega disbanded, and the thirty-six of them ran for it. My problem was, I was now holding the tentacle.
“You think you’re something else,” a voice echoed around me. “Tell Kyle Ranz, wherever in the universe he’s hiding, we will find him.”
I swallowed, pulled my sword and struck, not slicing it in two like the one before it, but damaging it enough it recoiled.
I ran for it, the ground beneath me seeming to disappear. The rift ahead pulsing in and out. I couldn’t see any of the other mech. I hoped to God they all got out.
“Hurry!” Xirob said.
It pulsed faster—it was about to collapse. I hit the boosters on the mech and sped towards the opening as it enlarged one last time and then shrunk.
I hit the disengage myself.
My team and their thirty-five mechs flew fast towards it.
The rift closed. The kenosi keeping it open—gone.
The first of my team was through.
The hole shrank even more.
Then we were through it.
The rift closed, and I landed face first in the dirt.
That was closer than close, Hiroto said.
I just looked into the slick black in my view, breathed in, then out.
My comms erupted in chatter; I couldn’t focus on it.
Kyle, Hiroto said. You okay?
I placed my mech hands to the dirt, pushed up and turned myself over, flopping on my back.
The megas around me were convening. I didn’t want to hear the telling off I was in for this time.
But at my side was another. I looked up at it. “Ed?”
He offered me a hand, and I took it, standing. Kind of.
“I owe you,” he said. “More than my life.”
I held onto his hand. “Keep fighting like we did together. You owe me nothing.”
He looked up at the megas as two of them moved to our position. “You ready to face them?” he asked.
“No.” I sucked in a breath. “Job done.”
It was Xirob and Dame. Ohara had already gone, reorganising the rest of the sections.
“Can you re-merge?” Dame asked.
I shook my head. “No,” I replied honestly.
“I’ll order a mini in to pick you up. Regroup on the fall line, we still need to defend this area if they make another move,” she said.
I looked to the far position, looked up to the other mega. “Debrief on Armastai,” Xirob said.
I nodded, and both Edward and I started our walk to the other side of the area. When we were there, drop ships were landing with fresh megas and supplies.
From the other sections, Hiroto said.
Their precision drops and reloads were completed.
“Mini is incoming,” Edward said, and he turned to watch it. Xirob and his squad loaded up. Then, as the rumble behind me caught my attention more, I turned, and we loaded onto the mini, soon whizzing back to Armastai, exhausted.
My body shook as I hopped off the transport. The mech kept me upright, and we walked to our hangar.
Spike waited for me with the other teams, ready to go as soon as we locked in.
I stepped down, clicked into place, and when the lid vanished, I breathed in our air and leaned forward on the controls.
I heard someone climbing up the side and looked to the view of the side of the bay, waiting for a face to appear.
Doctor Herin stuck his head over the side and then shifted into a better position.
“Take your time,” he said, placing a hand on mine. I felt the energy from him and accepted. It refilled some of my beyond-exhausted tank, and he placed a drink before me. “Latife’s been cooking up a storm getting this one ready for you.”
I sucked the offered straw, and my taste buds exploded. It was almost like her chocolate pudding.
Oh, thank you! Xe squeed in my head.
I almost drank it in one go but had to come out for air. Hiroto, status report?
Everyone made it, though Edward’s in the medical unit.
I tried to push myself up. “Edward,” I asked Herin.
“He’s going to be okay. We took his whole team there just as a precaution. That’s exactly where you’re heading when you can get down.”
“Everyone else?”
“Your teams are beyond exhausted, but the same. We’re moving them nice and slow.”
“Okay.” I sighed and sucked down the last of the offered drink. “Sure hope there’s some more of those. Jai’s one lucky son of a gun.”
Herin cocked his head to one side, and I waved a hand.
“Help me up,” I said.
He lent me a hand, and I took it to heave my aching body out of the cockpit. I sat on the side and noted him watching me.
“I’m good, give me a minute.”
“Take all you need,” he said.
With my hand on the mech, I reached inside myself and focussed, the view around me fading slightly. Thank you, I said to the nites racing around the shell. Now I’d gotten out.
The nites paused in their chaos and looked at me. They’re very happy you’re okay, Xe said. Lacy said he’ll work with Spike in getting back up to full health.
“We pulled out all the stops,” I said, not realising I was too tired to mind speak it to them.
Xe’s happiness passed over me, and Herin said, “You aren’t kidding, we have a ton of information from your mechs to go over.”
I looked at him, nodded. “Go, I’ll follow,” I said.
He deftly moved down and out of my way. I slid my legs over, and then very carefully—aware of how much weaker I was—figured out my foot holes and dropped down to the main floor once more.
Trin waited for me and pointed to the chair.
“I don’t need—” I was about to say. But she gave me a glare that would kill, and I took my seat to be whisked away to the medical unit.
I let Trin help me to a bed, and the world faded around me.
There were dreams, many of them. Images that floated through my mind, my dad, Lyndsey, those pics. Did he really have a new family?
Voices woke me, and I struggled with the brightness of the unit’s windows.
First thing I needed to see were my stats.
You’ve blown everything I’ve ever seen in the past out of the water, Hiroto said.
Show me? I asked.
We’ll go through that and your rewards. Kyle, this marks the changes I hoped for killing the darkness. Your Quick Points can be used too.
That really was something, again the system could make or break me.
I read over the sheet, my mind struggling to understand how much I’d grown.
Kyle Ranz - Contains -
Name - Hiroto Toshiaki
Human Consciousness
Name - Xe
Species - Trion
Name - Kyle Ranz
Species - Unknown
Year of Death - 2629
Class = Fighter/Sorcerer
Age 18 + 2
Level = 83
Respawns = 7
Mech Command
Memories = 86%
Health = 55%
Kenosi = Rank 196
Kenosi Merge - Rank Master
Nanites/Trion x 356,951
Body Type = Denti
Structural Integrity = Silver
Internal AI Chip = AX 717 - Drudel X Class
Skin Strength = 131
Blood Capacity = 109
Healing Speed = 130
Overall Personal Level = 999
Strength = 161
Dexterity = 112
Constitution = 364
Intelligence = 278
Wisdom = 176
Charisma = 40
Luck = 67
Quick Points = 4
Mech Warrior Operational Level = 421
Mech Command - Rank 55
Battle Mage - Rank 158
Mech Pilot - Rank 132
Nanite Engineer - Rank 131
Nanite Factory - 123
Human/Machine Interface - Rank 139
Mech Merge - Rank 149
Mech Remote Control - Rank 79
Remote Control - All - Rank 83
Mega Merge - Rank 64
Molecular Insight - Rank 97
Molecular Manipulation - Rank 70
Acceleration/Deceleration - Rank 64
Combustion - Rank 25
Reversion - Rank 22
Soul Split - Rank 35
Vrolsh Coding Learned
CAD Tech - Rank 23
Kiain Language - Rank 6
Emaxyol Language - Rank 1
Drop Ship Pilot - Rank 18
Shuttle Operator - Rank 19
Freighter Operator - Rank 13
Computer Science - Rank 14
Electronics and Communication - Rank 20
Electrical Engineering - Rank 22
Mechanical Engineering - Rank 23
Information Technology - Rank 25
Hacker - Rank 42
Foot Soldier - Rank 55
Merc - Rank 55
Sniper - Rank 35
Gun Smith - Rank 34
Shadow Awareness - Maxed out
Future Insight - Rank 33
Reconstruction Expertise - Rank 36
Null Gravity Management – Rank 42
Sword Play - Rank 98
Emergency Medicine - Rank 23
Psychology - Non Human - Rank 26
Psychology - Human/Denti - Rank 47
Muscle Healing - Rank 35
Poison Resistance - Rank 24
Viral Fighting - Rank 15
Night Sight - Rank 39
Deception - Rank 56
Negotiator - Rank 94
Detective - Rank 28
Space Politics - Rank 62
Animal Handling - Rank 15
Intelligence = You are smart already, + 20 Intelligence, + 20 Wisdom, + 20 Charisma, + 20 Luck
Special Traits Awarded x 2 – Any extras here do not show on your Stat Sheet Totals.
