Chapter 45
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TIME:
1 HOUR LATER
LOCATION:
NEAR ORBIT OF BETA CHARON V
3 AU FROM BETA CHARON
OUTER PLANETARY SYSTEM
STELLAR HALLOW'S HULL
I cautiously looked around the massive flat metal field looking for something that probably wasn't going to show up. The walk towards the destroyer had been as anxiety-inducing yet oddly boring as space walk usually are with no sign of anyone making their way out of the ship to try and harry us.
That however didn't make me any less cautious once we reached the hull of the vessel; if anything it made me more paranoid of an ambush. We slowly approached an airlock near the towing line. I was already expecting it to explode the moment we close in around it, but nothing of the such happened. I was so anxious I had forgotten my mother had already likely destroyed all of the explosives secured on the ship.
I looked down at the door and spotted something strange: a concealed keypad with 12 keys that have numbers and a pair of symbols. Crouching down I see no MID port to connect to. Shaking my head I stand up and step to the side without prompting the giant humanoid form of the breaching bot lumbers forwards and begin staring at the pad.
A minute goes by with the 3 meter tall breacher staring intently at the keypad before it finally moves. It squats down slowly and grabs something out of its back. I recognize the tool as a screwdriver as he quickly removes the keypad's cover. After prying it off with another tool we are left with a few wires all snacking out of the keypad with no clear indicator which is the one to open it. The bot nonetheless without any hesitation cut a cord free before soldering another wire it pulled out of somewhere inside itself to it.
Abruptly I hear a deep digitized voice enter my helmet’s comms which helpfully reveals its breacher, "Captain Runethari, I have completed the process to unlock this airlock. We will have 30 seconds to enter before the rewiring is detected and the airlock enters emergency shut down. On your command I will open it."
Looking around I notice the pesantes are all crowded around the airlock ready to enter it in a moment's notice. Nodding my head I suspected we'd have more than enough time Breacher though would be a tight squeeze through the door, but I'm certain he'll fit.
"Alright pesantes you enter first then, I enter second then Breacher will be last. Now Breacher, would you kindly open the door for us?"
I didn't receive a response but the airlock opened on my request. The dogs immediately jumped into the room. I saw a few flashes of light, likely panicked gunfire but I quickly joined them. However the fighting had already ended, the cultists having bloody lines dragged across torsos, and some had their helmet's face shattered with a clean hole running straight through it. One particularly gruesome corpse was one with half his head missing laying on the floor as a bloody mouthed dog sat nearby.
I decided to ignore that one as it only made them look more like a monster somehow. Quickly rushing forward to make for breacher its large frame ducked into the airlock and only a few seconds later did the airlock slam closed.
We squeeze ourselves close to the wall to let Breacher walk to the next set of airlocks I was expecting to have to cut through them. Oddly however the airlock begins to cycle sound and smell beginning to return. I fight off the urge to wince from the overwhelmingly sweet smell that has begun to prevail in the room from all the blood; it was almost making me nauseous. I had to switch to using one of the oxygen tanks that was luckily being carried by one of the pesantes.
Finally after several minutes of waiting the door slid open. Thankfully there was no gunfire but it didn't matter for the dogs who began sprinting forwards without waiting for orders. The only two to stay behind were one carrying ammunition and the bigger one I took for a leader.
We jogged after the overeager robots following the cries and screams of surprise and weapons fire. Passing the first group of comatose pirates I decided to stop and send an order to the pesantes to begin splitting up. So far from what data I've received they haven't encountered anything dangerous for them.
Inspecting the pirates I could only describe their choice in attire as stereotypically cultist. White robes with the occasional accent on those that might be leaders. All individuality was scrubbed clean, the mask even had a veil. Bending down I pulled aside a veil grimacing at the burn scarred face of the one I suspected was a leader. His face was partially discolored from what I was suspecting was a ritualistic scarring as the wound looked like it was properly cared for.
Standing back up I shoved the man's face out of my mind as I continued to advance. I was surprised when I came across a group of the religious nuts looking down at the bodies of their fellows. Before they could even know I was there I shot them in the back, one individual took a pair of rubber bullets to the back of his knee tumbling forwards. The dog carrying the ammo rushed forwards at speeds that wolves would have deeply envied despite it weighing several hundred kilos.
The idiots that were standing in the open looking at their fellows finally turned to acknowledge our presence. Some of them ducked behind overturned tables and chairs that were in the process of being made into barricades. Others meanwhile ducked into nearby rooms. Their efforts were all meaningless taking inspiration from the more intelligent savages I kicked down a door and ducked out of the line of fire. Breacher quickly joined me as the sounds of gunfire roared in the hallway.
Looking into the room I see a group of 3 humans staring wide eyed at me while attempting to hide behind furniture. They would have done better if their heads weren't poking out in surprise.
I was planning on ignoring them but suddenly I heard a shrill scream—that thankfully was blunted by my power armor—looking back I saw a woman rushing towards me with a kitchen knife screaming bloody murder. I rushed forwards and shoulder checked her causing her to fly back crashing into the furniture she had jumped over. Tettering dangerously the couch almost fell on the other valuable test subject.
Walking towards the couch with my weapon drawn and aimed I barely managed to avoid being shot by a pistol missing me and flying into a wall.
"Damn you fucks don't ever give up do you?!" I yell as I rush forwards vaulting over the couch and turning to kick a man in the process of reloading in his side.
"St-stay away d-demon! Don't even think of trying to hurt my Mom or Dad!" Someone yelled, voice cracking midway through. Looking to the side I found a barely teenage boy shakily holding a knife pointing it at me. I snort in amusement at his display of pointless bravery and just walk towards him to knock him out. He bristles at my mockery and tries to lunge at me, I just grab his wrist twist before—delicately—slamming his head into the side of the couch. His pathetic attempt at an intimidating scream went quiet and checking I confirmed he wasn't bleeding and his heart still beat; though I expect he will have the mother of all concussions when he wakes up. Eh that was his reward for being a stupid little shit.
Standing back up I notice the gunfire has stopped. Waiting for the leader pesanta to scratch the family to keep them asleep I stepped outside the little familial living quarters. I was glad to see every combatant and a few who were unarmed—I suspected were forced out of their quarters by the armed cultists as shields—were fast asleep though one person had died apparently retaining his consciousness long enough to shoot themself.
Clicking my tongue in annoyance I continued forwards this time I decided we should hurry to engineering. I'm not sure why but I have a feeling these cultists aren't above killing their own. Well that sounded quite reasonable if they have children attacking boarders. I didn't even consider the fact that the knife the child was holding just so happened to be the same one his mother tried to stab me with. It's not like it would have made me treat him differently, he tried attacking me with a weapon so I treated him as a threat. I was even merciful and quick thinking enough to not crack open his head against the couch.
Regardless we pressed forwards encountering multiple groups some of which had executed their fellows who were sleeping. By now the pesantes had reached a road block on their journey to engineering, a heavy bulkhead that was welded closed.
Joining up with remaining wolf bots I stared in contempt at the obstacle. I was not expecting them to weld the bulkheads shut. While scowling at the slab of metal a hand grabbed my shoulder.
"Are you certain you can cut through it, Breacher? This is a major bulkhead we're talking about."
"Yes, it will likely take several minutes however. Should I begin cutting through it?" I nodded my head switching to the pesantes I issued in order, "I want four of you to patrol our route to and from the airlock to our current location. Make sure the vermin don't kill too many of their hapless brothers out of some fanatical sense of duty. And doubly make sure nobody comes up behind us while Breacher is cutting."
The shiny silvery wolves all nodded before four particularly damaged robots began to walk off. Over the course of our fighting they've taken several dents to their armor and one of them even had its knee servo damaged by a rifle bullet. It was able to move but it had a pathetic limp to it that made me pity the poor guy.
Regardless, we waited. Suddenly a speaker turned on beside me. I almost shot it on reflex, expecting an IED but I held my hand. From the speaker came a familiar voice that sounded rather scratchy now probably from screaming too much.
"Apostate, I demand you leave this vessel at once! I have hostages!" I suppress a sigh as I shake my head. I decided to play along since I have time, "No, don't care if you have hostages. They’re your own people anyway, nobody I care about. I have a rather important thing that needs done and it has a time limit. I'm sorry but you're free to start executing them."
I lock my armors' joints as that's the closest thing to sitting I will be able to do while I wait. It doesn't take long for the leader to come screaming back, "What if I tell you my hostages are innocent children!? I will kill one for every five minutes you stay aboard this void ship, don't test me!"
I fail to suppress the sigh this time and unlock my joints as I reach for the side of my armor, "I still could not care less. I have no use for brats so be my guest. Though don't expect to be given a merciful end if I get my hands on you, you're wasting potential future personnel for me."
Finding the shiv I had in my armor I throw it at the speaker but I manage to hear a few last words before it fully shorts out, "How could you be bbzzzzt... ARE YOU EVEN HUMAaAAaA–?!bzzzzzzzzzt"
Sighing I shake my head under my breath after turning off the microphone I mutter a response, "Of course I'm not human, after all I don't use the lives of my spawn as threats to make someone in a better position run away."
Eventually Breacher spoke up, "Captain, the bulkhead is almost completely cut through. All it needs is a strong kick and it should make a sufficiently sized entrance." I nod my head reaching for the shiv. I yank it out of the speaker before attaching it back to my armor again.
"Okay everybody this is our last push! 3... 2... 1... GO!" I kick the door with the full force of my power armor assisted legs. The cut out section of the bulkhead flies out and slams into the ground screeching as it slides against the metal floor. The wolves sprint through the opening and screams, gunfire, and shouts of defiance fly through the air.
Swapping to lethal ammunition I duck into the room. I air out the skull of a cultist whose colors I assumed marked him as a leader as he peeked out of cover to aim a light machine gun in my direction. I hear a roar and someone somehow yelling loud enough to overshadow the chaotic final stand.
"I am Holy Knight Malchador Flare. I will crush your pathetic life, Apostate!" I look towards the sound of the voice and leap to the side to gain some distance as a man in shoddy heavy power armor stomps towards me far too quickly for my liking. I attempt to shoot out his knees but the bullets just smash uselessly against them. Just as I was shifting my aim to his helmet a silver flash smashed into the man even managing to knock him over.
"Guh! YOU DAMN METAL ABOMINATIONS!" He roared as he balled his fists as he prepared to slam it into the head of the brave pesanta. Just before the hammerblow crashes into the head of the robot I see its tail shoot forwards stretching or maybe extending many times its usual length and hits the self proclaimed holy knight in the face.
The man sits still for a moment, his fist embedded into the head of the pesanta. The battlefield goes silent as everyone turns to look regardless of whose side they were on. Even I found myself silent. The tail then slid off the face and I thought for a moment I'd have to fight someone with heavy power armor while under a time limit.
CRASH
The “holy knight” fell to his side. I could just make out the right lens in his helmet was shattered and broken. I was drawn out of my blooming revelry as I heard something slamming against metal coming from an open door. Getting a terrible feeling I shot forwards at a sprint. A cultist who returned to reality tried to stop me but was just shoved aside slamming into another still shocked combatant.
Turning the corner I saw someone slamming what must be the main reactor with a hammer with a large dent that I knew would be a weakness for steam to explode from. I quickly snap my gun up and put two shots into his back and another in his leg. He screams in agony but thankfully falls uselessly to the ground. Looking around I found the rest of the engineers trying to rush me down thinking that their fellow did enough damage, which I couldn’t be certain of. A quick burst of automatic fire scythed them down.
Looking over I notice the reactor was extremely damaged and unstable. The dent was making sounds it should never make from what could only be the coolant beginning to boil far too quickly. Rushing over to a side room I quickly controlled the reactor. I rushed to lower the temperature and vented some of the overly pressurized steam pipes, thankfully managing to make it stable again; though I had to quickly vent the superheated gas to some random location, hopefully no worthwhile subjects were nearby.
Looking back I called for the large pesanta but received no thankfully response. Walking out into the now quiet hallway I saw the large destroyed chassis of the leader. He was the one who killed that self proclaimed holy knight. I ran to its side hoping the important canister was still intact and pried open its storage compartment. Thankfully the canister of a highly potent gaseous general anesthetic was undamaged.
Walking back into engineering I found the life support system rather quickly. Walking up to the extremely large container that likely cycled the oxygen before it was returned to the system I found something to connect the tank to my canister. Thankfully everything was just as standardized as was planned and I wouldn't need to grab an adapter from one of the pesantes. Connecting the canister I looked for a terminal to have the air recycled in the ship. Eventually finding it in that same side room I felt the air vents begin drawing in old air and exhaling the new poisoned air.
Walking back outside I see everyone lined up. I finally sent the last order, "Mission is a success we leave for the Astro Dawn now." Walking through the door I cast a glance back at the dead pesanta feeling an odd sense of melancholy. Shaking my head I continued to walk back the path we took. I had a lot of work ahead of me when we returned to Midnight Nostalgia. I would need to select the 200 "volunteers" for the MID clinical tests.
"Sigh I should just let Mother decide... after all she will be utilitarian and pick the weakest and or most unruly." I spoke to no one in particular as I walked the silent halls of a now soon to be slumbering ship.