The Minotaurs Brigade: Mercenary Teseum Wardens. . .

@Beodren . . .

Alistair had perched up in the secondary comm tower upper floor, balancing the heavy customized Molotok Autorifle on the synth-concrete balcony; the Family Heirloom blade, its trusty 100% Pure Teseum Claymore properly sized for its Dogwarrior Battleform was sitting nearby, propped on the wallset, ready to be grabbed, should some enemy coming nearby enough to be assaulted in close combat. . .

While the integration of the Battle-Helper Geist housed in the Advanced Military Comlog (safely housed in a Teseum Alloy Vambrace on its still organic arm) was still a fresh novelty for the young Noble Scion of House Mac Elliott, its naturally gifted combat talents (honed as “Perfect Skills” by many, many years of grueling military training) had started to blend seamlessly the typical ferocious combat aptitude of Ariadnans, with the ever-evolving Smart Targeting Protocols developed by the more modern Armies of the Human Sphere. . .

So even if the keen, lupine eyes of its werewolfish form were Not Yet able to spot the distantly approaching Enemy Flyer Drones, the Com-Log projected accurate Holographic Rendering of their predicted paths of approaches, so that the Caledonian Aristocrat could easily plan perfect lines of firing. . .

At its side, on the relatively high enough semi-abandoned secondary comm tower, the Alien Simian warrior that was tasked to join its combat group, the Morat Master-Sergeant Uja'Rak, was fiddling with an oversized Mk12 Marksman Heavy Snipergun, as if hoping the enemy would have been visible soon. . .

The Young Highlander Lieutenant had, at first, scoffed at the vision of the burly, muscular Xeno taking away that weapon from its fixed emplacement, on a pintle-mount of an Off-Road Army Jeep, but even if squatter and smaller than a full-formed Dogwarrior, its Alien Muscles bulged enough to show that it was far stronger than a normal, unaugmented Human and so perfectly capable of hefting a so large weapon. . .

In fact Alistair suspected that the Renegade Morat would have been stronger than a Wulver of comparable size and height; He had fought the Alien Menace beforehand, but jusr rank'n'file Regimental Soldiers and Yaogat Artillerists (losing his arm to the nasty shot of a Railgun Autocannon!!) but from stories told by other Caledonian Veterans of Paradiso, the Daturazi Elites like Uja'Rak were quite brawny even from the exceptional standards of a Warrior Race with savage disposition and martial efficiency as defining social traits. . .

Similarly the Custom Molotok of Alistair was an enormously oversized gun, with an extended barrell, ameliorated and bigger firing mechanism and far larger magazines; in its human-sized Dogface form could shoot just short burst with it, by extending the bipod and putting it into a properly braced machinegun firing position, usually immoble and prone; but when in Dogwarrior, especially with the help of the brand-new and extremely strong Artificial Teseum Cyberlimb, the gun was easily carried and fired as if was a Ligh Assault Rifle for a normal Human Soldier. . .

So, when finally the enemies happened to be in range, the Junior Lord Mc Elliott swivelled the weapon easily and started to fire long bursts towards the approaching enemies with wild abandon. . . . . . barely registering that also the Morat had started to shoot the oversized Sniper Rifle, but had chosen the larger, slower crab-like “Heavy Tank Drones” approaching from the waterline, rather than the smaller, lighter flyers that He was targeting, spraying swarms of Armor Piercing rounds. . .

. . . . .

Minutes later the battle was technically over, with a resounding victory of the Mercenary Defenders against the robotic assaulters; the floor was littered with the spent brass casings of the projectiles shoot by Alistair's Molotok, along with the discarded Drum Magazines emptied of their content. . .

The Caledonian Dogwarrior was sure to have shot down at least TWO, and probably even THREE of the wasp-coloured “Angry Hornet” enemy drones (that its Com-Log designated as “Second-Hand Subpar Cheap Copies” of Nomads Meteor Zonds, whatever that stuff was. . .) and, with the help of the Miltary Geist, had even started to shoot even beyond the Airfield Battle zone, towards where secondary enemy Drone Swarms had started to try to approach, criss-crossing with other faraway Minotaurs Machinegunners a lethal “Aerial Interdiction Deathzone”. . .

Still, JUST shooting was not enough to sate the innate “Bloodlust” of a fierce Dogwarrior, in particular one that had hot, fierce Caledonian origins; ONLY the visceral thrill of Close Combat would have quenched its cravings. . .

So it was quite happy to hear a pinging Alert on the Com-Log Battle-Net that had the Support Artificial Intelligence of the Minotaurs, H.I.V.E.M.I.N.D., asking to engage one of the remaining Flyer Drones in strictly close combat, to disable its frame and retrieve an important piece of Hardware from its mechanical innards. . .

Apparently their crafty, insidious adversary, the Criminal A.I. “Svengali”, had put some small portion of its consciousness into the large, armoured frames of the big, slow Crab-Tank Drones; it was impossible to retrieve the physical Hard-Drives without utterly wracking those heavy chassis. . .

But as the big, lumbering Land-Mechas were quickly dispatched, one after the other, by the combined might of the various Mercenaries, their Enemy was forced to download the “Battlenet Consciousness” on one of the remaining Flyer Drones, far lighter and less armoured. . .

One of these, damaged enough by small arms fire of the Biker Snipers to the point of not being more able to properly fly, but barely hover at some meters of height, passed right nearby the secondary comm tower were Alistair was perched. . .

Without wasting precious seconds, the Highlander Noble Soldier let the sturdy Molotok clatter on the floor (had anyway spent ALL the Ammunition Drums previously acquired !!), snatched the Giant Teseum Claymore and, with a whopping Gaelic War-Cry LEAPED from the comm-tower, vaulting and plummeting toward the enemy drone, decine of meters below. . . . .!!!

Would have been a suicidal jump for a normal Human, and even a Cybernetically Enhanced Soldier (or one wearing a Servo-Assisted “Heavy Infantry” Powered Armour, totally unknown assetts on Ariadnan Troopers) would have risked serious injuries, without the specialized Equipement of Aerial Deployement Jetpacks or, at least, H.A.L.O. Parachutes employed by Elite Airborne Troopers of Planet Dawn. . .

But Alistair was a superbly consummate Dogwarrior, with innate athletics skills inherited by its Dogbowl Champion father, and was gifted with a Giant Blade AND a Bionic Arm, BOTH made of the finest, purer Caledonian Teseum. . .

Pivoting in mid-air so that the sword-tip would “Spear” the thickest part of the Drone's Armoured Frame, Alistair stabbed the robotic foe right in the center-mass, and felt the extra kinetic transfer harmlessly dissipated through the large Cyber-Arm, with all excess force easily absorbed by the Dogwarrior enhanced phisique. . .

Even a totally artificial enemy such as the Drone was stunned by the powerful kinetic shock, with the giant Teseum Claymore totally embedded in mid-lenght and pinning it to the Tarmac of the Airport Lane; this left to Alistair precious istants to land on all four limbs and approach the downed foe. . .

The insect-like multiple eye-visors of the “Angry Hornet” Drone blinked from the usual Blue-Green neon glow to a fiery Reddish light (and the Geist warned that was the start of Self-Destruct protocols) but the Caledonian Officer was yet ready to act. . .

H.I.V.E.M.I.N.D. had yet projected on the Com-Log an Holo-Display of the Drone inner structural blueprint, and ONLY Alistair was uniquely suited to execute a daring, bold maneuver. . .

With the 100% Pure Teseum Talons (that were the Cyberhand “Fingernails”) totally extended when in Dogwarrior Form, the artifical arm of the Highlander Noble plunged in the smoldering, sparking mechanical innards of the downed drone, tearing away what was labeled as “Nexus Core C.P.U.” with a noisome gut-wrenching sound; even a Tankhunter / Mormaer with its Heavy Teseum Armoured Fist could not do a similar feat, but Alistair's Cyberlimb was incredibly strong and durable, more even than Powered Armorsuits, and comparable to the most lethal Military Lhost Androids . . .

It was extremely satysfying, much like when hunting a living, breathing Feral Prey; Alistair recalled its first transformations in Dogwarrior, when the “Wolf Bloodlust” was sated by killing dangerous beasts. . . . .it was a LITERALLY “Visceral Victory” worthy such as throating an Antipode Alpha during a counter-raid, or ripping the bleeding heart of a Wild Auroch Bull . . . . .

The angry, glaring light of the Drone Sensors died away, with a defeated buzzing sound, while the Caledonian Beastman contemplated its prize; that “Nexus Core” was very similar to the Motherboards of the Traktor Muls that all Ariadnan Military employed as Drone Support, but was at least doubled in size, and filled with weird, strangely-shaped Biochips of a bilious, vile greenish colour. . .

The sounds of the battle raging around died down too, and Alistair was able to register the aknowledgements of the Minotaurs A.I., H.I.V.E.M.I.N.D. directly downloaded to His Comlog; all the while its “K-9” Sidekick, the cyber-augmented Antipode that recently bonded with Him, was happily nuzzling its legs, as if was a Packmate happy for the “Big Kill” of the Alpha:

[Great Felicitations to Your resounding Victory, Lieutenant Mc Elliott. . .

Not only the Enemy Forces of #DESIGNATED ALPHA FOE# “Svengali” are totally defeated, but You managed to acquire #PRIMARY IMPORTANT ASSETT# that will give us very vital / useful Tactical Infos of Not-Questionable Nature. . .

Commander Graywulf, that is ALSO Your “Liege Lord”, had yet said You were of “Exceptional Lineage”, but all the Battlefield Performance Analysis predictions have been totally exceeded; a similar efficaciousness was previously unheard of in many of the Dogwarrior Soldiers of whom I have Infosec Access, barring Commander Volkova, but Her talents lies more in One-On-One Engagements #Codename: Stavka Assassinations#, rather than generic Milspec Battles. . .

I'm sure that You'll will earn “Accolades & Honours” from Your Caledonian Peers, even if “Tea, Scones & Medals” eludes Me as a form of fitting rewards #MUST ASSESS BETTER CALEDONIAN CUSTOMS / FILED EXTRA QUERY#. . .

Also Your “Potential Squadmates” performance on the Battlefield has been well INSIDE acceptable Parameters of %Efficacy. . .and ESPECIALLY with a very High %Synergy Potential with Your Tactical Assetts. . . . .

Would You like to be #Ultrahigh Security Protocol-encryption# connected to the Squad members ???]

 

@Golem2God . . .

Uja'Rak Se'Ok was finally able to unleash some pent-up rage and stress by shooting with its newfound Heavy Sniper Gun; who knew even fighting from distance could have been so amusing and entertaining. . .??

He could start to understand the fascination of the Yaogats with their “Big Boom Toys” and could not deny that sturdy, solid Ariadnan Guns had a powerful appeal that called to something in the Morat Racial Psyche, to like powerful and loud weapons rather than the meek, silent “Zip-Zap Guns” of the rest of the Galaxy (or even the Suppressed, Flashless “Coward Rifles” of the thrice-despicable Shaasvaastii, weapons more suited to paranoid assassins, rather than True Warriors !!). . .

While not a Mass-Driver Autocannon or an Heavy Sniper Railgun (signature tools of the Yaogats) the weapon that Uja was using was quite good, if rather a little “Primitive” even for Morats' standards; at first the high recoil was a little baffling, even bone-jarring, but the Daturazi Krakot burly, muscular physique (larger and more imposing than for the usual strongly built Morats !!) easily adapted and compensated, allowing a more and more precise spread of shots. . .

The Teseum-Tipped heavy bullets were also quite efficacious, even if Uja comprehension of the Human “Battle Glyphs” employed by the Minotaurs Mercs was not enough to understand properly how MUCH % of the precious Teseum was alloyed in each ordnance projectile (and were those labeled “12,7 mm.” ? Or was “Cal. 30” ?? Or was, instead, “Cal. 50” ???). . .

The usual support guns of choices of Daturazi Witches Warrior-Monks were far more suited for Close Engagements, such as Assault Rifles, Boarding Shotguns and Chainrifles, often fitted with a Combi-Grenade Launcher fitted underneath the primary barrell, and capable to switch quickly from Hitech Smoke Bombs (an integral parts of the Morat Martialists tactical code, to be able to reach enemies even under cover-fire) with more weird, exotic Ordnance for special targets. . .

But He felt quite accustomed to even shoot from quite a distance, with a heavy, cumbersome Antimaterial / Antitank “Heavy Snipergun”; maybe it was the influence of His erstwhile Human Wife, an accomplished “Loup Garou” Sniper of the Merovingian “Metro” Gendarmes, to boil down to its tastes. . .

What was a little disconcerting was that He was sure to have dished ENOUGH damage to even fell a Heavy T.A.G. (and with the Morat's standard being the devastating Raichos, it was quite a high bar to reach !!) but the “Crab Tanks” refused to die. . . . .and of staying dead !!

He was sure that One, at most TWO, shots would have been enough to fell one of these, if properly aimed in weak spots of the otherwise very wide Armour (such as Eye-Sensors, Pipe-Slits or the Articulation Joints) but as soon as He searched another target, the Eye-Lights flared again and the Heavy Drone tried to amble away. . .

It was surely a trick of a Commanding Artificial Intelligence that had probably built-in multiple redundant systems in what were sort of “Field Node Units”; as a former Combined Army Warrior that was a nasty habit with whom Uja was intimately aware, due to the past shehanigans of E.I. Aspect Commanders (You can NEVER be sure they stay down. . .especially if back-struck “Erroneously” by Friendly Fire of “Overzealous” Morat Troopers !!) . . . . .

But an Old Proverb of the Morat Hunters said very wisely “If Prey Does Not Stand Down, JUST Apply More Brute Force !!” and this ancient maxim of when Morats were primitive Pack-Hunters applied well even to more modern ages. . .

Shooting again, and Again, and AGAIN !!!

Especially to the foes yet engaged by other Mercenaries presents on the Airfield Battle, the prowess of some was quite awesome to behold, especially the ones with Paramilitary Exoframes. . .

. . . . .

After contributing to defeat the slower, lumbering Heavy Tank Drones then tried its aim towards the more nimble, smaller flyer ones; but those managed to be far more difficult to shoot with single shots of the heavy recoiling “Big Snipergun” that Uja employed. . .

But when He managed to nail one in the crosshairs it exploded in a SINGLE shot, much like a sort of “Firecracker” like the ones its mischievous adoptive human Sons employed to harass the Pet Snakewolf of Uja, the Ruby-Scaled “Knucker ”, now happily at the side of the “Alpha Master” and howling excitedly at each shoot of the Renegade Morat. . .

But the heavy Armor Piercing Rounds of the large Antimateriel Rifle were of a limited quantity and sadly soon they finished; not willing to launch from the Rooftop like the maniacally suicidal “Human Werewolf” nearby, then a fitting pastime for a Veteran Daturazi like Uja would be to assess the Battle Performance of any other worthwile Warrior of the Minotaurs Mercenaries and meditate upon it. . .

It seemed also that Commander Graywulf intended, and wanted, the Renegade Morat to act as a “De-Facto-Raktorak” (Attendant Sub-Officers to Elite Officers, a very important and respected Role in the Supremacy Armies) to the Dogwarrior Officer; starting to judge and calculate on the prowess of future Squadmates would be an important task, one literally ingrained in the Morat Psyche !!

After all Uja'Rak was a “Paladin Fighter” of the “Mind” and the “Soul” and not only of the “Body”; who better to judge the comrades-in-arms of who seemed to be destined to be a very important person for the future of the Caledonian Sub-Nation of the Ariadnan Federation of Planet Dawn . . .??

Maybe was also His “Outsider Status” to be useful to judge how best mix and match an hodge-podge assembly of Extremists from three cultures of the Human Sphere (Ariadnans, Haqqislamites and Nomads) and Renegades from the Hyperpowers, along with a smattering of even weirder creatures (not even in the Combined Army Penal Legions the Ex-Daturazi had seen improbable melting pots of freaks like the Cyberbrain-Enhanced Antipode Natives or the absurd Biomech Pseudohumanoids that Tohaa “Radicals” had created outside the strict rules of the Triarchy !!!)

Being a Morat Renegade that had embraced the Human Culture, Philosophy and even Religion, and married a Human Woman (who was a “Fringe Element” on Her own) granted unique perspectives !!

The Advanced Com-Log with the Milspec Security Geits that had taken the place of the insidious, pervasive “Direct Link with the E.I. Consciousness” typical of the Daturazis was activated in Total Recording Mode, to be feed by the Cameras & Sensors of the Island (focused on the Airport Battlezone) to whom Uja had access of enough security clearance level (quite high indeed for a fresh recruit; probably was due to the fact that the Greywulf Family had taken a liking to the Krakot Renegade style. . .) and that could offer a “Panopticon Perspective of Total Combat-Zen Awareness”

The Morat was a consummate Veteran of Alien Battlefield that no Human had seen beforehand, and so the overwhelming Multi-Sensorial Feed was not so difficult to parse and collate; more difficult would be to properly check and judge the efficacy of single Mercs in the chaotic aftermath of the weird battle. . .!!

Particularly impressive was the Close Combat of the weird “Virtual Smoke” covered “Oriental Styled” T.A.G. that had even the gall of Jumping mid-air from a landing Orbital Shuttle !!; as a fellow practicioner of the Polearms Fencing then Uja could understand quite good the good training of a Skilled Martialist and the “Samurai Mecha” was commandereed by an incredibly focused Warrior, that married savage fierceness and youthful exhuberance with the cool calmness of a Master. . . . .

The Exoframe was of similar size and structure to the Morat Raichos, usually piloted by some of the most savagely lethal of the Zerats, the Female Warriors of Uja's race, to infer that it was surely piloted by a Human Woman, and one remarkably apt to kill in Melee, with a grace and poise usually unseen outside Professional Duelists; such a graceful killer would have been, between Morats, the chosen Champion of a Regiment when the Sotarak (Sacred Duel to ascertain Command Privileges) would have been invoked between Rival Battalions and even Competing Armies. . .

Another very interesting Candidate wore the Colours of the Nomad Nation (the less predictable, and so more troubling, of the Human Powers for the Evolved Intelligence) and piloted a relatively tiny Exoframe Suit (one that the Morat would have classed rather a “Extra Armoured Heavy Infantryman” rather than a True “Tactical Armoured Gear”); mixing Armor Piercing Autofire with Electromagnetic Pulse Grenades the red-coloured Mech damaged and lessened efficiency of the Enemy Drones, preparing them for the kill by other friendly Units. . . . .The efficacy with whom targeted exposed joints and vulnerable parts signaled clearly a Combat Engineer very well trained !!

Further down the battlezone, nearby the Tarmac Airline where the Orbital Shuttle had finally parked, and profiting from the cover of Armoured Cargo Containers hastily moved as improvised defensive emplacements by the Terminal Support Personnel, there was a weird female figure that recalled to Uja's mind the fierce Oznat Pack Mistress of its Culture, that moved, and stalked prey, rather more like Apex Predators than Normal Humanoids, using remarkably well Heavy Weapons !!

That female, followed by an Ancillary Robotic Sub-Unit, exampled clearly Feline Features; as Uja believed there were not “Cat People” Subraces between the Humans (as opposed to the decisively Canine-Men Hybrids exemplars found on Planet Dawn, such as Wulvers and Dogwarriors !!) probably was one of those artificially and surgically created “Chimeras” like the obnoxious LaTigre Balam (always suborning / corrupting so many female acquaintances of Uja between the Mercs. !!)

Then a priority message pinged on its Com-Log, with the subtle ease of an intervening A.I. to whom the Ex-Daturazi was intimately aware and expert; but rather than the aloof superiority complex of the Evolved Intelligence, or the Excessive Neutrality of A.L.E.P.H. it chirped with happy tones and a very non-invasive Contact Protocol, expressely tailored to not engineer troublesome feelings. . .

[Greetings Master-Sergeant Uja'Rak'Se'Ok #Check Correct Morat Spelling#. . .

H.I.V.E.M.I.N.D. #Designated Support Artificial Intelligence Minotaurs Mercenary Battalion# speaking here. . .

Would You like to be #Ultrahigh Security Protocol-encryption# connected to the Squad members ???]

 

@inane.imp . . .

Like every proficient Mechanic hailing from the Semi-Militarized Corregidor Mothership, Tony Rodriguez was as much able to assemble things than as aggressively dismantling them; those Drones did not stand a chance against His carefully custom-tailored Gecko Light T.A.G. and the smartily selected ammunitions. . .

While the “Angry Hornet” Light Flyers and the “Mad Krabs” Heavy Walker Tanks were smartily constructed, with multiple redundancy systems, they were anyway cheap, second-hand copies of the Nomad “Meteor Zond” and of the Panoceanian Varunan “Scuba Worker”; not only this, but were clearly built with inferior materials (the flying ones assembled with salvaged Orbital Wrecks of yet venerable Ariadnan Space Program, while the walking arachnids hastily repaired from hulked parts of whatever Underwater Salvage the A.I, was able to scavenge from ocean floors of Planet Dawn !!)

From its past personal career, and various “Horror Stories” of Veteran Mechanics of the Pit Teams with whom Tony had worked in the past, the Criminal Renegade Artificial Intelligence known as “Svengali”, should have been far more efficacious both in the construction and realization of its Robotic Drone Armies, and on the flawless Field Execution of their allotted devious plans. . .

Naturally cautious (and verging on well-justified paranoia, based on what happened to the Paradiso Frontlines) Tony had yet instructed its Ancillary Mech-Servant Geist, Betty, to totally insulate in “Autistic Mode” the personal infosphere of the Gecko, execute personalized custom Diagnostic Purges and also launch hypersecure Sensorial Sweep-Scans of the Airfield Virtual “Mirror Reality” to assess if the hapless Drones were actually a costly decoy, and somewhere else the TRUE Agents of the Criminal A.I. were plotting something truly nefarious. . .

But, as soon as the last Walker-Tank Heavy Drone was dispatched and the few remaining, scattered Flyer ones were on the point of being quickly gunned down from the skyfield, both Nomad Veterans, Mechanic-Pilot and Personal Geist, were able to execute even more accurate scanning of the Tarmac Infosphere and. . . . .finding nothing amiss !!!

Even when the Ancillary Sub-Tinbot Unit of Tony's Gecko, the “Bandersnatch” with the oversized industrial servo-arm, was able to latch on one of the Antenna Radomes of the Airport (easily overtaking the primitive security checks of the Biker Gangers, even less advanced and well maintained than the rest of the relatively primitive Ariadna-based Minotaurs Mercs !!!) and amplify the Scan Sensor Signal, there were not traces of Viral Memes, Auto-Replicating Code-Strings, Self-Aware Malicious Malwares or even simple “Trojan Spores” (often employed by Renegade Artificial Intelligences to subtly infiltrate an unsuspecting System and slowly overtaking it, by rewriting the Source Code with the A.I. own one !!). . .

Maybe it was the fact that Svengali, usually able to rely on the hypercomplex, multi-layered, chaotic and purposefully confuse “Random Virtuality” of Arachne (the copy of O-12 “Maya” Infosphere Substructure, willingly made polarly opposite to A.L.E.P.H. orderly organizers) and to suborn some Secondary Mainframe to support its Hacking Attempts (usually done with “Hydras”, multi-pronged Worm Programs, semi-sentient and almost self-aware, that tries the Security of a Target System by attacking from many, multiple different Backdoors at the same time !!) was stranded on the “Stone-Age” Mainframe Systems of the very limited Ariadnan Infosphere, and was sorely limited in its usual avenues of Virtual Infiltration. . .

But Tony Rodriguez had not survived many grueling ordalies by leaving “Chance & Happenstance” decide His fate, and so some further larger and larger Scan Sweeps were executed by using whatever Subsystem of New Knossos Island was able to accept its complex programming. . .

The Corregidoran Mechanic noticed also that His own Authenthication Code has been YET included in the Security Protocols of the Minotaurs, with a Rank comparable to a Veteran Sergeant of the Nomads Paramilitary Forces, so there was not even the need to break into not-unfriendly systems. . .

His scanning sweeps of the whole Island Fortress of the Mercenary Company showed Him defences that were pitifully primitive, but layered in multiple, redundant levels (especially on Underground Fortified Bunkers, built into the spent volcanic mineshafts, good enough to withstand even Orbital Bormbardement by the Railgun Batteries of an Hyperpower “Alpha Class” Dreadnought Starship !!) that were easily repelling the enemy advances. . .

Similar to the “Hydra Worming” of Svengali that the Nomad Mechanic was so acutely aware, also in Real World Physical Reality, the Criminal A.I. had executed a multi-pronged attack; but clearly ITS attention has been focused on the Airport Terminal (attacked by 3 of the Heavy Spidertank Drones and a “Swarm” of 6 Flyers) while elsewhere there was just 2, or even a single, “Mad Krab”, with a meager support of 2-4 “Angry Hornets”. . .

And the material with whom the secondary “Prongs” were made was even more subpar, showing clear signs of damage by Orbital Micrometeorites or Undersea Salty Corrosion; whatever interested Svengali was in the Airport Terminal, and the other avenues of assault were just diversions; also as soon as the WHOLE force of Drones at the Airlane was dispatched, the few surviving Units stopped their decoy attacks and tried to converge on the direction of the Terminal. . . . . .with the predictable result of being easily ambushed by heavily armed Mercs Patrol. . .

Safe and secure in its Armoured Cockpit of the personalized Gecko Exoframe (far more durable, and reinforced, than a Standard Nomad T.A.G. of the same Class), with Betty launching casual, randomic “Antibiotic / Diagnostic I.C.E.s” and the “Bandersnatch” Tinbot acting as secondary pair of Eyes, then Tony tried to analyze and check the insensate chaos of the Battle, opening many Hex-Shaped Virtual Holoscreens to observe any interesting part of the Island Siege, gone SPECTACULARLY badly for the Robotic Enemies. . .

Nearby the Airport any spare, surviving Enemy Drone that tried to converge on the Terminal was quickly dispatched by Mercs Ground Vehicles, hastly launched from secondary and tertiary hangars behind the Tarmac Airlane, as soon as the Biker Gangers had understood that whooping and hollering Kums and Desperados with Chainrifles were a poor safegaurd against the reinforced Drones. . .

Primitive Ariadnan “Hum-Vee” Jeeps, with a pintle mounted Cal .30 “Vintage Machinegun” (whose sensorial analysis showed to the Mechanic stats comparable to far more compact A.P. Spitfires of the Human Sphere Armies) were sufficient to stuck down from the sky the “Angry Hornet” Flyers, while the far heavier, sturdy “Mad Krabs” necessitated the intervention of bigger Truck-Shaped A.T.V.s sporting what was dubbed “Vintage Cal .50” (whose efficacy was analyzed by Tony's Geist to be on line with modern H.M.G. shooting T2 Ammunition !!). . .

Some enemy forces had tried to sally, and regroup, nearby a Fortified Compound that showed clear Haqqislamite Cultural signs in its shape and construction styles, as the compound was in the shade of the largest Volcanic Caldera of the Island and sheltered them from Mortar Fire of the Mercs Artillery; this proved to be an unlucky decision, because from an underground hangar exited what Tony knew to be heavily customized “Luzige” A.P.C. that started to shoot down the Drones of Svengali (the ease with whom the Haqq Mercs defeated even the heavier enemies, clearly showed that they were employing Teseum-tipped Munitions, in place of the usual Organic Biometal Warheads employed by the Armed Forces of Bourak !!). . .

On the other side of the island some relatively primitive large V.T.O.L. Osprey-Planes (with a generic “Primitive” chassis clearly enhanced, in places, by Hi-Tech of Nomads / Haqqislamite origins) were executing strafing runs on Drones entrenched in what seemed to be an abandoned Miners Village; one of the Tank-Drones was hidden inside the biggest building, and somehow shielded by worst of the aircrafts' fire. . . . .until one of the V.T.O.L.s (christened with the motto “Dragonslayers” and the St.George Banner on the sides) disgorged a small band of A.D. Troops directly on the vertical of the occupied building. . .

Most of the Paratroopers were clearly U.S.Ariadnan Rangers and Airborne Mavericks, armed with Customized Grenade Launchers, but their Commander seemed to be some sort of Ex-Panoceanian “Former” Military Order Knight with a Heavy Armour fitted with a “Angelwing” Hitech Jetpack (and wielding a long-bladed melee weapon that Betty immediatly tagged with “Highly Illegal Templar Knights Sentient A.I. Sword”); they quickly entered the premises and vanquished the hidden Tank-Drone in close quarters. . .

Then something attracted the Geist attention, as a part of the Island was somehow covered in attempts of “White Noise” Virtual Chaff to somehow hide what was occurring there; it was a matter of simply directing some Optical Cameras unaffected by Infosphere Flare-Programs to see the pitched battle occurring there. . .

A couple of the “Mad Krabs”, supported by a whole handful of the “Angry Hornets” were trying to close on a Reinforced Bunker directly built in the Volcanic Caldera sides; some clearly Artificial Mercenary Troopers (that seemed cheap copies of Yujing Karakuri Gynoids, but rather shaped as crude Male Androids, wearing Human Uniforms and even Fatigue Dresses) were stalling the enemy advance while, of all possible T.A.G.s, a Tohaa Gorgos of unknown design was spearheading the defence. . . . .!!!

The defender garrisons were clearly buying time (sacrificing many of the Humandrones and even a couple of Ancillary Symbiomates of the Gorgos, that seemed rather poorly done hybrids between Chaksa Auxilias and Dawn Native Megafauna !!) while the Robot Hordes of Svengali were desperately trying to gain access to the Underground Complex, but was all for naught. . .

The defence went good enough as the Bunker Doors opened to reveal an enormous Industrial Lift that had brought to the surface what seemed to be some sort of Haqqislamite Maghariba War-Walker, but AT LEAST thrice in size, with far more than mere four legs, and brimming with Automated Gun Turrets. . .

A.P. Machineguns, Riot Grenade Launchers, T2 Autocannons (housed in a Tank-Turret) and what seemed some sort of Mass-Driver Ventral Railgun quickly dispatched what remained of Svengali Forces, and that seemed to be the final drop on the Criminal A.I. Drones on the whole of New Knossos Island premises. . .

When analyzing, parsing and collating the last infos, suddendly Betty warned Tony that a Radio-Coded Message was trying to reach them by reverse-coursing their Sensorial Sweep; as the Nomad Mechanic Gecko was totally insulated from External Infosphere Comms, that was the ONLY possibility of reaching an attempt of communications, and needed ENORMOUS computational power to be able to execute far more than mere Morse-Tap Signals. . .

There appeared what was the rather good “Virtuality Rendition” of one of the Humandroids, but wearing what seemed a good approximation of the latest trend fashion of Pan-Oceanian Corpsec (with subtly visual hints that this was intended as a mockery of the Hyperpower, rather than flattery !!) that spoke in clipped, but friendly tones, made slow and elaborate by the Time-Lag of the Coded Comms Exchange. . .

[Greetings Pilot-Sergeant Rodriguez Tony, of the Nomad Mothership Corregidor. . .

H.I.V.E.M.I.N.D. #Designated Support Artificial Intelligence Minotaurs Mercenary Battalion# speaking here. . .

The Battle is Over and the Minotaurs soundly won; You could cease with the Quantronic Defences that You so promptly erected, as now Mercs Allied Wardrivers are rendering the Island Infosphere 125% Secure. . .

I must commend the efficacy of Your Custom Anti-Hack Protocols; they seem to be EXCEEDINGLY well-done to counter the usual Tactics of #Primary Foe Codename: SVENGALI#; as My Source Code is encoded with the Countering of the Criminal Renegade, You could infer I'm EXTREMELY interested in sharing #VITAL ASSET INFOS# with You. . .

Would You like to be #Ultrahigh Security Protocol-encryption# connected to Your New Squad members ???

In particular, Nomad Freindly Unit #DESIGNATED# “Pilot-Sergeant Farabella Marquela Dreanna, of the Nomad Mothership Bakunin” was trying to reach You during the whole battle. . . . .]

 

@Danger Rose . . .

Dreanna had exited the Orbital Shuttle Cargo Bay, grabbing the first useful Heavy Weapon that She had understood the Coded Security Glyphs on the crate, believing it to be some sort of Ariadnan Missile Launcher, crude and primitive, but containing nice, shiny Fire-Based Ammunition (or so the “Smiling Flame” Icon led Her to believe). . .

It was instead some sort of Heavily Customized Grenade Launcher, at first very similar to the Drum-Fed, Revolver-Action “Riot Squad” Models employed by the Moderators when sweeping the worst of Praxis Black Labs and the shittiest of the Chimera Gladiator Pits. . .

But rather than being a squat, compact Pump-Action Gun fired from the hip (and loaded with Taser Blasters, Adhesive Ammo or Tear Gas Warheads) was a far longer weapon, fired from the shoulder (like a proper R.P.G. Launcher) with an elongated barrell with gyro-stabylizers and a rather Hyperadvanced Computer-Assisted Targeting System (clearly of Nomads or Haqqislamite origins, and later affixed to the rustic Ariadna-Made gun), and was loaded with Hypervelocity White Phosporous Incendiary Grenades. . .

One of the best assetts of Dreanna were Her Artificial Eyes (a perfect blend of Gene-Engineered Vat-Grown Organics, and Computerized Low-Quantronic Biochips, as in the best tradition of Bakunin Vaudeville !!) easily, innately and intuitively adapted to the firing target system. . .

After just a couple of missed shots (anyway quite satysfying for the Pyromaniacal Chimera Catwoman, as they erupted in nice “Ardent Flowers” of brilliant pearlescent incendiary chemicals that rained, as beautiful fireworks, on the hectic battlefield !!) then Dreanna's Geist instructed Her Comlog to download predictable deviation patterns and retarded timed explosion. . .

With those clear “Neon Glow” lines superimposed on Her Augmented-Reality Sight was quite easy to nail down and shoot down (transformed in beautiful ! Beautiful !! BEAUTIFUL !!! Flaming Wreckages) the hapless Flyer Drones (poor imitations of the excellent Meteor Zonds employed by the Nomad Paramilitary Forces, and whose hover-levitation protocols were quite aknowledged by the gorgeous Feline Chimera) were no more capable of avoiding Her indirect firing patterns. . .

One, Two, Three at most Grenades for Drone and the “Angry Hornets” became luminous, fiery, brimstone-like junked hulks (but, when still in flames, so pretty ! Pretty !! PRETTY !!!); even when they tried to avoid the Bakunite Pilot not-easily-predicted shooting lanes, the support of many small arms autofire by the various Biker Gangers around narrowed considerably their escape routes, and often they were forced to go through flaming clouds of white phosphoric death, pre-emptively detonated beyond possible directions. . .

They had mounted powerful Plasma Reactor Thrusters, with quite a speed-punch, but crude and improvised in their construction, and so they were clumsy and slow when trying to correct courses with a too step deviation; in the time that needed for Dreanna to empty the rather large Drum Cylinder Magazine of the weapon, Her trusty “Zondcat” had built an improvised ladder with three Crates of Ammunitions, to better reach the back of its Mistress and help reload the “Willie Pete” Warheads in the emptied Grenade Slots of the Revolver-Styled Ammo-Wheel. . .

All the available enemies were shoot down quickly, and for good measure Dreanna launched liberally some more Flaming Grenades towards yet destroyed Drones (just to be sure, the big walker ones seemed to be able to “Reconnect / Re-Activate” when stroken by someone Heavy Snipergun shoots) and very soon the Battlefield was ablaze with fiery pyres (so magnificents ! So Magnificents !! SO MAGNIFICENTS !!!). . .

But this was NOT enough for the Flame-Loving Chimera, the Open Tactical Comms continued to say that further Enemy Drones were trying to reach the Airport, converging from different sections of the Island; some more Intel would have been good, but Her only trusted Contact, the grumpy Corregidoran Mechanic Tony, was suspiciously unreachable (not that She tought He somehow fell in battle, too crusty to fail against those Lesser Foes. . . . .probably the “Paranoid Old Geezer” had insulated the Personal Infosphere as soon as were uttered the words “Svengali, The Criminal A.I.” !!!). . .

The Airport had some nice overview zones and so Dreanna sauntered towards a group of Biker Gangers that seemed quite interesting (the fact that many of them seemed to be armed with Combi-Flamethrowers, Heavy Flamers and other sort of Fire-Based Weaponry was PURELY coincidental !!) with the trusted Tinbot Zondcat following Her steps, carrying a big crate of White Phosporous 40mm. Grenades. . .

At first, looking around the interesting fellas, Dreanna thought that some Praxis Black Labs “Freaklord Scientist” with a DECISE Canine Fetish had set shop on this Mercenary Company, at least judging from all the Lupine Faces and Wolfbrows around; then a sudden revelation happened to Her, as She comprehended they were not Surgically Grafted “Cosmetic Chimeras” or even Gene-Engineered Vat-Grown Pupniks of an Uberfallkommando Unit. . .

These were the results of the weird ecosystem of Planet Dawn, about whom She had read some interesting Arachne Reports; a whole panoplia of Human-Animal Hybrid to let Vaudeville Aficionados green with envy, as these were ZERO COST !!!

The more bestial ones, those with Manes of Fur, intense scarring and a Quadrupedal Pose, often armed ONLY with crude Melee Implements (and weirdly acting almost as smart as human, when in small groups of three) should be the “Antipode Natives”, some sort of enslaved Aboriginal Xenos that had obtained an even shorter stick than the Varunan Helots, corralled by the disgusting Corporate Policies of Pan-Oceania. . .

The more human, whose features were JUST SLIGHTLY canines, with extra body hair and knitted eyebrows, should have been the “Wulver Third Generations”; some sort of Genetic Dead-End, steriles and with a lot of inbred issues, but blessed with a ferocious willpower and beastial strenght (the Smart-Chipped Eyes of Dreanna discerned no visible Muscle Augmentations, and yet, they hefted enormous guns that a Chimera Gladiator would have some problems to carry easily). . .

Then a particularly brawny Biker Ganger was shoot by a lucky stray bullett fired from one of the still smouldering and sparking Drones, that stubbornly refused to die; instead to succumb to the gruesome wound, the hairy Gang Member roared in defiance and started to. . .change. . .with extra muscle mass acrruing from nowhere and the snarling face becoming a wolfish snout, and with an incredible burst of speed, extracted an enormous Waraxe and charged the stubbron Drone, hacking it into smaller and smaller pieces. . .

That should have been one of the infamous “Dogface / Dogwarriors” that, infused somehow with Hybrid Human-Alien D.N.A. were able to alter Mass and Shape, contradicting many of the Laws of Physics that Dreanna was forced to assimilate to be a proper Ship Mechanic during Her youth; anyway these were quite impressive and would have had a sizable following inside the Chimera Pit Fights of Praxis . . . . .!!!

But amidst the clearly “Local Fauna” there were some with characteristic Gene-Tampering of Bakunin with whom Dreanna was intimately familiar; strangely enough their Garb, Wargear and Equipement was not so similar to Nomads Personnel, but rather a brutal, rustic kind of Haqqislamite Survival Gear. . .

Of those Dreanna was sure that a “Precise Zoanthrope Fetish” was there, as Bovine Features were quite prevalent (except for a rather large “Razorback Sow” Swine-Woman, that attracted the Bakunite Catgirl interest because was armed with a crude, but effective Heavy Flamethrower obtained by welding a Bike Engine to a Fuel Drum and a long Nozzle Dispenser. . . . .and there was also a big, burly fella, atop a comm tower, calmly observing the battlefield carnage as it was a Mayacast Spectacle, that OUGHT have spent TRULY enormous money to become the more similar possible to an Alien Simian Morat of the Combined Army. . . Some people were tasteless !!)

But the mass of the “Local Chimeras” amongst the Bikers were fitted with Bovine Horns, often quite crudely and in an improvised manner that Vaudeville never would have permitted, and possible ONLY in the worst Hack'N'Saw “Body-Chop Shop” of Praxis Underground; some were instead better, as with a quite attractive Amazonian Woman with Bull Horns (and a secondary large . . .”Natural Rack” too big and bouncy to be implanted !!), unfortunately escorted by a Brute that was modded to be a “Minotaur” not only in Name, but totally on Fact. . . . .!!!

Then, when trying to assess if there were available Drone Targets approaching from Behind the Airport, another interesting trio of clearly Gene-Morphed People attracted Dreanna's attention, mainly because those wore clearly Nomadic Colours, with a decise slant towards the Palette of Bakunin. . . . .and immediatly a Superstitious Terror seized the heart of the Chimera Catwoman as was apparent that the Three were a detachement of the Moirae Observance !!

Clad in the Cloak of a Mother Superior of the Order of Mary of the Knife, there was a long-legged and slender Woman with a sort of Lupine Mask (almost reminiscent of the Anubis Faceplates that Dreanna once saw when visiting the Egypt-Styled “Pesedjet” Tourism Module . . .); the Revernd Moirae had a a long, two-handed Oriental Sword of Yujing Japanese Style strapped on the back (along with a Foxy Furry Tail emerging from the cloak folds) but held in Her gauntleted, clawed hands a rather large Sniper Rifle. . .

Behind Her was a meeker, smaller Woman, with a blank facemask that continuously leaked Holographic “Bloody Tears”; armed with a Combrifle with Underslung Grenade Launcher, seemed totally absent and unaware of Her surroundings, but just a peek on the “Virtual Halo” filled with dangerous I.C.E. Firewalls and Semi-Autonomous Attack Programs clearly labeled Her as a Reverend Custodier, the lethal Hackers of the Observance. . .

Last was an enormously muscular and brawny Male, with curved Ram-Horns jutting from a reinforced Armour Faceplate; distinctively a Sin-Eater Bodyguard tasked to protect the two Female Moiraes showed some bleeding wounds from shrapnels of the battle, but paid them no heed as He did not feeled any pain; was armed with a rather large Drum-Fed Boarding Shotgun, modified with Vulkan Ammunition that could not be missed by the pyromaniac Chimera Pilot. . .

Apparently the three from the Observance were busy arguing, in clearly angry undertones, with, of all the persons, the two narcissistic and obnoxious Glitterati Maya Warcors of the Orbital Shuttle that had unbeknowstingly harassed the Japanese Exoframe Pilot during the trip from the Nomad Starship towards the surface of Planet Dawn. . .

Suddendly a pinging Infodump of previously unseen power gently, but forcefully started to “Knock” on Dreanna Personal Infosphere comm relay. . .

[Greetings Pilot-Sergeant Farabella Marquela Dreanna, of the Nomad Mothership Bakunin #Check Correct Spelling; Specific Nomad Subculture Cant#. . .

H.I.V.E.M.I.N.D. #Designated Support Artificial Intelligence Minotaurs Mercenary Battalion# speaking here. . .

I see that You have located the Local Observance Personnel here on New Knossos Island; I know that from many of Mothership Bakunin properly express Religious Obeisance is importan and vital to Moral, but I'm sorry to inform You that actually those Personnel #CODENAMES: “Mother Kitsune” / “Sister Lacryma” / “Brother Scapegoat”# are currently unavailable for “Confession” as they are solving a rather worrysome “Security Leak”. . .

Would You like, Instead, to be #Ultrahigh Security Protocol-encryption# connected to the Designated Squad members of Your New Team ???]

 

@Yasashii Fuyu . . .

Miyu finished to spear another enemy and was quite satisfied to see the vanquished foe go in a shower of sparks and black smoke; while extremely armoured and provided with weaponry quite primitive, but brutally effective, it was just a matter of perfect timing between spear thrusts and active defence, confiding in the hyperadvanced hydraulic joints of Her otherwise heavy and cumbersome Exoframe (designed by Her Family Engineers to rival, in sheer power and size, the Guijias of the Chinese Usurpers) to skedaddle away from enemy retaliatory fire and clawstrikes. . .

It was like one of the Mixed Martial Arts battles that She has seen, and extensively studied, from very Young age; it resembled a nimble Martialist of Karate or Aikido dodging away from a cumbersome, but lethal opponent, like a Sumotori or a Western Wrestler, all size and mass, and it was just a dance of pivoting away from the foe clumsy swats, striking with lighting speed at exposed target points at the right moment. . .

The long Naginata Halberd, made with rare Orbital Steel Alloys and with the Blade honed by Ultrasound Engines to more sharpness than standard monomolecular edges was satysfying enough, even if the Heavy Powersuit Sensors were deducing stress and mini-microfractures at subatomic levels. . . . .but that was the matter of accepting a Mercenary Work on the primitive Planet Dawn, where the precious Teseum (and some small quantity or the even rare Nessium, present in Asteroidal Mines, even in far less concentrations than in contested Svarhalheima) was relatively abundant. . .

Miyu was not ONLY an Onna-Bugeisha, a Samurai Woman; She was also member of a “Kuge” Clan, the Upper Nobility of the Japanese oppressed Sub-State of Hyperpower Yujing; also She had even the Royal Blood of the “Sangi”, the hereditary Courtier Families that attended the “Dai-Nippon Okami Tenno”, the Imperial Heir of Japan (in fact She remembered to have to check with the Imperial Chamberlain if Her “Warrior Caste Status” comprised also the Title of “Imperial Hatamoto”, a Bushi so trusted to be permitted to wear openly the Daisho Blades in the Emperor Presence !!). . .

For that Role not only the Combat Arts, but also the Blacksmithing, Forging and Tempering of Blades was an integral part of the Training and Raising of a Noblewoman of Her rank; She dreamed to meet, and exchange heated discussions, with the Teseum Weaponsmiths of the Minotaurs Mercenaries, said to starting to blend Native Teseum Forge techniques with Haqqislamite “Damascus Steel” Tempering and Nomads “Experimental Orbital Alloy” of Rare Metals. . .

There were rumors around the Dark-Mayasphere that the Ariadna-Based Mercs had in their employ an Alien Morat Renegade, one of the so called “Krakots”, that was supposedly rumored to know Tempering Secrets previously unknown on the Human Sphere; the rumors were so wild to attribute to this mysterious Simian Xeno the capability of creating the mythological Vorpal Blades,(said to possess Monomolecular, Explosive, Armor-Piercing, Viral and whatever other “Sword Powers” ALL TOGETHER !!) worn and used ONLY by the “Upper Echelons” of the Combined Army. . .

The mere idea of re-forging all of Her “Daisho” Blades, and especially the trusted Naginata Halberd of the T.A.G. (primary avenue of attack of the Exoframe Combat Style of Miyu) was tantalizing and dreamy; also the fancy of providing Her trusty Gynoid Retainer, Kasa, with a Teseum Ninja-To, or Shuriken / Shinais of even more Exotic Alloys, to enhance Her “Kunoichi Ninjutsu” programmed excellence was quite interesting to think of. . .

After dispatching another “Mad Krab” Walker-Tank Drone of the Enemy (seriously, what was all the fuss about this “Renegade A.I. Svengali”; semi-aware Training Dummies had given Miyu far more issues that the clumsy Robotic Puppets of this SUPPOSED “Legendary Criminal Mastermind”. . . . .!!!) then She fancied to reach one of the flyier ones, to try to swat it from the sky much like an annoying mosquito during the Summery Heat of the Sapporo Beach Estate of Her familial holdings, but, sadly they were all destroyed away. . .

She fancied a little to reach some other distant Battlezones in other parts of the Island (what this hypothethical “Uber-Smart” Artificial Intelligence was thinking, to substitute “Good Quality” with “Mere Quantity” ??) but jog-trotting Her Tactical Armoured Gear around, to reach elusive foes, was not a dignified activity for a Noble Warrior of Her Rank. . .

She was content to stand guard at the landed Orbital Shuttle (anyway Her expensive luggages were still in the cargo bay, it will NOT do to lose precious Latest Trend Fashion for an unlucky stray Drone), with the Exoframe blocked in a striking “Victory Pose” and the Polearm butt on the wrecked junked hulk of an enemy Tank-Drone (Kasa was quite busy shooting Holo Photos with Her Com-Log, quickly editing them with Photoshop CS15, and posting them on Miyu's Mayacast Page). . .

All the while the Pilot relaxed a little in the Hypercomfy Memory Smart-Foam cushioning of Her cockpit padding, and started to peruse a little the Open Battle Channels of the Minotaurs; the Mercenary Company was supposed to be a “T.A.G. Powerhouse” in the retrograde Ariadnan Culture and so checking for “Truly Worthy” Friendly Rivals and Sparring Partner amongst the Allied Forces was an useful pastime. . .

She noted, with a certain satisfaction, that the Tac-Net of the Minotaurs yet signed Her as “Potential Second-In-Command” of an Elite Squad Lieutenant; even if Her Rank was JUST of “Master Sergeant” (an unlucky clause of standard New Hiring Policies of Mercs of the Human Sphere) instead of the “Tai-Sa” Captaincy that She held in the J.S.A. this made Her technically “Junior Officer” as respect and title goes. . .

She puffed a little with pride, surely some smart Maya-Blogger amongst the Mercs (porbably one of the Nomads, or Haqqislamites, as She doubted Ariadnans had time nor tendency to Surf the immense “Humansphere Infocloud”) had tagged Her as good “Emergency Field Officer” as Her past career in the Exoframe Gladiatorial Games has proved, when assuming Team Leader Role after a more Veteran Pilot was disabled during Mult-T.A.G. Events. . .

She noted, with a pique of interest, that the OTHER “Potential Second-In-Command” was a mysterious “Master-Sergeant Rak'Torak Uja'Rak'Se'Ok”; not even the most weird Fringe Subcultures of the Human Sphere would have a so Alien-Sounding Name. . . . .It seemed quite “Morat Spelled” and maybe the Kami would have been so kind to put Her in the same squad of the legendary, mythological “Teseum Swordsmith”. . .This would have done wonders for Her prowess, fame and Mayastatus (imagine being the FIRST HUMAN SAMURAI to wield a Vorpal Naginata or Yari Spear !!). . .

But the first interesting Infodump arrived not by the Minotaurs Battlefield Tac-Net, but rather from Her old “Personal Account” on the “Spartacus Sub-Net”, the Informal Cloud of Mayasphere & Arachne Datanet that was around all the Exoframe Gladiator Pilots, more affluent Sponsors and their most Hardcore Fans . . .

It was a greeting, and commendation on Her openly displayed Spearmanship Excellence, by an Account from an Aspiring Pilot of the Junior League, one that She has seen a couple of Years before entering the Season Opening Competition, but being thoroughly wasted because its T.A.G. was too rough and primitive (did not EVEN had a “Co-Pilot” Personalized Geist !!!) and its Combat Skills not honed enough to resists against the rich glitterati Elite Kids of Pan-O Corps that often made the first ranks of the Gladiator Rings, with their fancy modified Stingrays and piloted Squalos, all choc-full of costly gadgets and gewgaws. . .

But now that Miyu opened a direct feed to the starting point, seeing the Guijia-Based Heavy Mechasuit of this “Warrior-Prince Atticus, son of King Mynos” She reviewed Her otherwise poor evaluation of that former contender of Exoframe Gladiator Rings. . .

Now was the Pilot of heavily modified Yujing-Made personal customized Guijia, that took the “Minotaur” theme to new heights, with a Bull-Headed Sensor Head, Cloven-Hoofed Feets and wielding a TRULY ENORMOUS 100% Pure Teseum “Labrys” War-Axe; gone were the crude youthful exhuberance that Miyu witnessed a few seasons ago, it was all consummate experience of a Veteran Meleeist pivoting and pirouetting around a “Mad Krab” Drone attacking far behind the Airport Secondary Structures, hacking it into pieces (albeit with far, Far, FAR less “Grace & Poise” than Miyu's Style, but with a certain innegable crude, brutal efficiency !!!). . .

Other Holographic Visual Windows gave the Nihonjin Female Samurai a view of other interesting T.A.G. (or T.A.G.-sized. . .) Allies Performances, all around the Island where they were mopping up the remaining competition with effortless ease; truly this “Svengali” had SERIOUSLY underestimated the Mercs efficiency !!

She filed away for a later time the performance of one of Her fellow passenger of the Orbital Shuttle, the grumpy Nomad Mechanic with the weirdly scarred half of the face; it was listed as “Miyu Squadmate Team Member” and so She would have access to the Internal Sensory Feed to peruse more clearly in less stringent times, when NOW She had to decide what Visual Infodumps, flooding Her Personal Infosphere would have been worthy to keep or otherwise discard. . .

Interestingly enough even the gregarious, friendly Nomad Chimera Catwoman was listed as “Active T.A.G. Pilot”, but, quite weirdly, was on Foot, shooting away with a primitive, oversized Heavy Grenade Launcher, and followed faithfully by a tiny “Ancillary Tinbot” whose Feline Features were quite “Kawaii” for Miyu's tastes. . .!!

She observed a rough, primitive, blocky and squared-looking “Boxy Exoframe” with Kazak Colours, strangely clumsy and leaping on an oversized Armoured Truck to follow some stray Flyer Drones that swerwed away from the Airport Direction to do an apparently suicidal charge towards the Old Terminal Airplane Fuel Depots; that Exoframe had very weird joints and structure for a Piloted T.A.G. (and She knew on Ariadnan Forces there were NOT ENOUGH Tech Level to support Unmanned Mechas piloted remotely) and fired from a shoulder mounted Heavy Machinegun, while launching simultaneously multiple Panzerfaust Warheads from the chassis. . .

In the zone, not so faraway from the Airlane Tarmac Strip, interested by the “Kamikaze Drop” of the “Angry Hornets” Drones there was another weird Exoframe that piqued the interest of the Onna-Bugeisha; had a structure very similar to the Ariadnan Blackjacks (listed as NOT “True T.A.G.s” but rather as Superheavy Infantry Powered Armour of the far end of the Weight Class) but far larger and heavier (much like a Guijia with Jotum Extra-Plating !!!) and was busy trying to shoot down the Aerial Drones with a couple of twin-linked Rocket Pods on the shoulderpads and large, long-barrelled Autocannons, one under each Armpit. . .

The Camera Feed showing both weird Ariadnan Exoframes ended when the last Flyer Drone impacted directly on the “Cowboy Attired” Gunner-Mecha and also the strange Kazak Suit disappeared when multiple explosions rocked the Fuel Depots; still it was not a fiery inferno such as would have been with the Feed Lines exploding, so Miyu was sure the Pilots would have been safe, maybe a little rocked, even if their Tactical Armoured gears surely took a beating !!!

Another interesting Visual Feed was from the rear end of the Airport Terminal, where that dashing Desert Gentleman that so fiercely bashed the two nosy “Paparazzi Warcors” that harassed Miyu during the Orbital Trip; apparently was busy executing “Purge Anti-Hacking Protocols” on a Lizard T.A.G. (very heavily customized, and with enhanced “Reptilian Features”) that seemed to have been “Frozen” at the very start of the Airfield Battle, and not able to partecipate. . .

Also this Camera Feed was cut by the Fuel Explosions, but the Samurai Woman was sure they were quite far away from the danger zone; before trying to patch from different Sensorial Nets, Miyu personal Infosphere was insistently “Pinged” by a very powerful Signal:

[Greetings Miyu-Sama, Kuge of the High Family Clans, Imperial Sangi of the Golden Crysanthemum Throne #Check Correct Address Mode for Lesser Japanese Royalty, designation “Imperial Hatamoto”#. . .

H.I.V.E.M.I.N.D. #Designated Support Artificial Intelligence Minotaurs Mercenary Battalion# speaking here. . .

Would You like to be #Ultrahigh Security Protocol-encryption# connected to the Squad members ???]

 

@Golem2God and @inane.imp . . .

. . . . .

At the same time of the events transpiring on New Knossos Island on Planet Dawn of the Ariadnan Star System, but very, Very, VERY distant from it. . . . .

Somewhere on the very fringe of the Human Edge. . .

An unnamed Asteroidal Belt, abandoned and uninhabited, as years before even the poorest Edger Miners had extracted even the tiniest speck of barely useful minerals, and had to abandon just the worst support material, not worthy of being recycled somewhere else. . .

A place not good EVEN for the Human Edge Pirates (notoriously NOT picky to select hidden bases on the more awful Planetoids and Space Rocks) as too distant from good shipping lanes. . .

In the old hangar bay of the dilapidated Asteroidal Mine, open to space and without even the meekest support technologies, instantly de-cloak from very advanced Holo-T.O. Camo Screen a weirdly shaped, small and sleek, starship. . .

Only the most Elite of the Human Sphere Security Agencies (such as the infamous Nomads Black Hand, the Hexas of Pan-Oceania and the Imperial Service of Yujing) would have instantly recognized it for a Shaasvaastii “Stealth Saucer” one of the most insidious, and undetectable, Infiltration Vehicles of the Galaxy, with capabilities unmatched by Human Sphere Tech. . .

A small cadre of Seed Soldiers and Aswangs, clad in hideously Alien-looking Biotech Voidsuits disembarked from the Saucer Cargo Hold, scanning the cavernous, empty, cold and lifeless station innards with weird Voododtech Sensor Suites, all the while pointing the darkest recesses of the Hangars with their Organic-shaped Combirifles. . .

Satisfied only after a thorough research then disembarked another Shaasvastii, this one higher and less hunchback stooped, with a more reinforced Voidsuit that had some subtle visual cues hinting perhaps at the Ancient Egypian Culture of Old Earth, and a bearing of command and superiority to its lesser scuttling around Him / Her / It. . .

Only then, from the deepest access corridor of the empty Asterod Mineshafts arrived a trio of more human-looking people; they wore mismatched Armoured Voidsuits that were anyway patched with peerless efficiency, mixing Nomads Vacuum-Sealing, Yujing Myomer Musclefibers and Pan-O Orc Armour Platings. . .

They were very beautiful from the Human Standards, with an innate poise and grace, but their features were hawkish and cruel, almost raptor-looking, as if someone had selected their facial features from the more successful Criminals of Police Shows of Mayasphere. . .

Just a look to their openly displayed “Halo Cloud” immediatly alerted the Shaasvastii Bodyguards that these were Artificial Human Lhosts of the highest degrees; two imposing, burly males with Advanced Combat Frames and a sleek, elegant, graceful Female Chassis with enhanced Assassination Capabilities. . .

The Shaasvastii Commander was quite versed in the Human Submondo Infosec, and immediatly recognized the two Androids as “Saeligs”, the Male Aspects of the Criminal A.I. Svengali (usually tasked with violent physical actions), while the Gynoid was one of the “Zeldas”, the Female Aspects of the “Renegade Clusters” (exceedingly able to conduct seduction, espionages and mobster wetworks). . .

Even with the Saeligs openly carrying big guns, one a customized Vulkan Shotgun and the other a compact Assault Machinegun of personalized design (while the Zelda just had a couple of Heavy Pistols strapped on Her lithe, supple body) they were clearly beaten by the sheer numbers of Shaasvastii “Stealth Troopers” of the Noctifers Class, appearing as from thin air and wielding horribly shaped Viral Blades and Alien Chainrifles. . .

But the Aspects of Svengali seemed unfazed by this display of Xeno Stealth efficiency, even the smirk on the Zelda face seemed to tacitally approve of a similar show of force; also the Aliens Leader approached fearlessly, with just a long, curved scimitar-like Monomolecular Blade strapped openly on the back, and wielding a short-barrelled Xeno Spitfire and starting to speak with sibilant undertones:

“Greetingssss, Assspectsss of Ssssvengali ! I'm desssignated as Naissssh “Sssseth” and I'm a direct Embryo-Seed of My Lord & Liege, Commander Apophyssss !!”

“My Ssssire expressss regretsss to not be there in persssson, but pressssing matterssss on the Parasisssso Frontlinesss, and the duty to the Resssst of the Concordat, impeded It to be there !!”

“But I'm Hisss direct Lineage-Ssscion, and this Quantronic Mental Relay, implanted directly in My Cerebral Cortexxxx, let My Commander feel everything that I feel, and I'm tasssked to act on Hisss behalf !!”

With this the forked-tongue Alien showed a bulging, pulsing Voodootech Cyberimplant, made with vile, disgusting bile-green Biochips, that took a good sized chunk of the rear of its ugly reptilian head. . .

The Zelda Aspect nodded and started to speak with a mellifluous, seducing, charming voice to whom even the Aliens, Masters of Deception and Subterfuge, could not claim to be immune:

“The precautions are wise, and well considered, as no one knows who could interfer with our Shared Plan ! Also, WE are Svengali, as Svengali is Everywhere and Nowhere at the same time !!”

“It would be uncouth for My Master, to pretend Yours to be present in person, when Mine is NOT able to be in a Single Location, but rather diffused in the WHOLE of the Human Sphere !!!”

“Here in this encrypted Datachip there is ALL the Analysis of the Minotaurs Mercenaries apparent prowess and Operational Security, at least insofar WE, Svengali, were able to glean !!”

“As previuously warned, WE could mobilize just VERY LIMITED assetts with a so small preview time! Just a couple of days more would have given US time to prepare better Drones, in larger numbers and maybe even deploy a couple of Aspects locally to direct firsthand the Scouting Offensive. . .!!”

The Alien shrugged, and motioned one of its hideously hunchbacked underlings to carry some weirdly glowing tubes of greenish fluid to one of the Saeligs, that started to check its contents with a Chemical Sensor Suite, while He / Her / It opened the thrice-fingered palm to receive the Datachip, suspiciously similar to Cube Technology to prove that was made with tampering with proscribed technology. . .

“My Massster knew of Limited Optionsss within Very Limited Time Windowssss !! Ssssadly it wasss to act now, or not act at all !! Jusssst now We had foreknowledge of the Primary Targets taking refuge on a previousssly unknown foe, of whom We know too few precioussss Infosss !!”

The tall, slender Alien inserted the Datachip directly into the tumorous growths of the Artificial Cyberbrain, that bulged and pulsed even more, and seemed very satisfied, as if the Pleasure Centers of the Cerebellum were directly stimulated. . .

“Yeessssss ! What You got isss good enough for My Massster to take in consssideration plansss previousssly impossssible !! The risssk wasss sssurely worth it, and I'm sssure that the Payement issss good enough to cover Your. . .Extra Exssspensssesss !!!”

“Alssso there wasss a Secondary Target who issss very near My Masssterss' Goalsss ! It wasss worth it to sssee it in Direct Action, as Our Infosss are sssssorely outdated !!”

The Zelda looked in the direction of the Saelig checking the Chemical Payement and, with a nod between shared minds that said more than quantronic data-feed, spoke again to the Alien Leader:

“Yeah, the “Secondary Target”, the Mechanic from Corregidor !! When WE, Svengali, knew Your Master want it dead, would have been more expeditious to assassinate Him while still inside the Nomads Nations, that are Our preferred Area of Expertise ! Now WE could provide just very limited support to Your endeavour, and Times, and Costs, will be very inflated !!!”

The Alien Leader froze for a moment, stiffened its back, and a new, fiery light appeared in its Xeno Eyes; when it started to spoke again, it was clear it was Apophys itself, employing the Quantronic Relay to spoke directly, with a more booming, thunderous, and yet still sibilant voice:

“Yesss ! More Expediotiousss, but lessss persssonal !! After all, the Nomad Pilot issss the ONLY Human that had escaped My grasssp !!! It will NOT do to do it by proxy. . . . .!!”

“And for the other partsss of Our Accord ? Have You managed to locate sssome Human Local Asssetttsss that will be amenable to be influenced by Our Desssiresss ??”

“It isss an integral, and very fundamental, part of Our Long Term Planningsssssssss. . .ssss. .ss.s KKKKHHH-HH-H !!!”

With the last gurgled sibilations, the Naish Assassin started to waiver a little and knelt on the cold floor of the abandoned Asteroidal Mine; it was clear that a Direct Quantronic Relay could be maintained JUST for very limited time, and costed a lot of pain and fatigue on the Receiver, immediatly helped by some of its attendant Noctifers and Seed-Soldiers, injecting a bluish Nano-Healer directly on its exposed Cerebral Matrix. . .

Unfazed by the other predicaments, the Zelda nodded, and produced another Datchip, of even larger size, and sagely smirked:

“Oh, WE, Svengali, managed ! WE have located Assetts, present on Planet Dawn, that will be VERY amenable to what the Shaasvaastii Race could offer to them !! WE will daresay they YET play right on Your hand . . . . .!!!”

“. . . . . “

“Have Your ever heard of a Human Radical Fringe Organization called: N.E.M.E.S.I.S., The Tyrant Matriarchy ?????”