Post by Kavid on Jun 8, 2004 21:22:01 GMT -5
Chapter 13
Sleep-Walking
If not for Bruno’s super-powerful coffee—which he calls “petroleum”—I wouldn’t have made it. Sifen was looking very weak, and although I had gotten more sleep than him, I knew I couldn’t look much better. His coughing was almost constant.
After about four hours the sandstorm finally broke. Sifen took position looking out the big peephole, and I took care of Kavid and Katrana. Bruno was outside trying to dig his Gustav out of the sand…
Until he came running in the door. “Hey, you guys see that?” he asked.
“See what?” I yawned.
“One of your PAC-Wolves is runnin’ towards us!”
“Sifen?” I asked, boggled that he could miss such a thing. But when I saw him, he was leaning against the wall, hard asleep.
I hated to do it, but I had to wake him up. “Sifen.” I calmly said as I shook his shoulder. He awoke in a fright, but slowly, and painfully regained his wits. “Sorry, bud but we’ve got trouble.”
“Cough! Cough! Yes, sir.” He looked out the hole and squinted. “Sir, it’s PAC-Wolf-4.”
“What?” I didn’t want to believe Bruno, but I had to believe Sifen. “Let’s get to the Command Wolves. Bruno, get Kavid and Katrana into the Gustav.”
“Right away.”
The PAC-Wolves were ankle-deep in sand, but were still in decent shape. PAC-1 still looked a bit burnt and cracked from the CPG blast, but the sand didn’t do any more harm. We had reloaded some of their ammunition with what we found in the tower, and even found a couple of usable missiles for PAC-3.
As soon as we walked around the tower, PAC-4 was in range and started shooting at us. But its shots were slow and sloppy. It had obviously been turned into a sleeper.
The problem with sleepers is the fact that they don’t stop attacking until their target is destroyed. And now, we had an indestructible one shooting at us. No matter how many times we knocked it down, it just got back up and started shooting again. It was very, very annoying.
“Sifen,” I asked his image on my HUD-Comm, “Do you have any ideas on how to stop this thing?”
“Only one, sir. The rescue lever.”
Of course. The rescue lever was able to pop open the canopy and allow access into the cockpit—in emergencies of course. Well, this seemed like an emergency.
“Corporal, use your missiles to hit it hard right next to me. I’ll jump out and get into the cockpit and detach the Sleeper AI Box.”
“Sir, at the most the PAC-Wolf will be stunned for about fifteen seconds.”
“Then I’ll make sure I’m really, really close.” I smirked and flicked off the Comm.
The next time PAC-4 lethargically attacked Sifen, I was ready. PAC-3 nailed it hard with the missiles, and it landed perfectly next to PAC-1.
“Great shot, Sifen!”
Five seconds.
I jumped down from PAC-1.
Ten seconds.
The soft sand made climbing up onto the head difficult.
Fifteen seconds.
I had just grabbed the lever when the Wolf growled and stood up. It tried to shake me off, but I had a good grip on it. I yanked the lever and the canopy slowly opened. The Zoid really started hopping and shaking now, and I couldn’t stay on much longer. I hunched over the cockpit’s side and grabbed the AI Box. Using what little strength I had left, I ripped the box off of the seat and broke the cables. PAC-4 immediately settled down. What a ride.
As I threw the AI box to the ground, I saw a dust trail racing across the desert dunes. I climbed into PAC-4’s cockpit and used the HUD to magnify the image. It was just what I was dreading.
“Sir!” called Sifen, “The Death Sniper is approaching the Imperial Tower!”
The fight with PAC-4 had moved us pretty far from the Outpost. The Sniper’s strategy was obvious now. I turned on the Comm to Bruno’s Gustav. “Bruno, the Death Sniper is approaching you. Keep it busy until we can get closer.”
“No can do, Cap’n. The Gustav is still buried too deep. I ain’t goin’ nowhere.”
“Then use your Anti-Zoid rifles!”
“Oh yeah, I got plenty of them. Roger.”
It was too late. The little Gun Sniper reached the tower and the rear doors opened for it, groaning as they pushed the sand away. The GS whipped its tail around and backed into the tower. Using the magnification on the HUD, I could see the ceiling’s blinds opening up. Robotic arms came down and removed the Gun Sniper’s missile launchers. Larger arms lowered down a massively upgraded and customized Wild Weasel Unit onto the GS. It was full of weapons, including gattling cannons, Geno Saurer cannons and missile pods. More arms reached down and attached a multitude of other weapons all over the Death Sniper’s body, including Elephander cannons, Shield Liger cannons and even more missile pods. The end result was an obscenely over-armed little Gun Sniper that had doubled its size—just with weapons.
The Death Sniper stomped out of the Tower, and Bruno started shooting at it, but he did no harm. The walking arsenal turned towards the PAC-Wolves, and opened fire.
Never in my life had I seen so many laser blasts and missiles flying in my direction. Cannons thundered, gattling guns roared and missile launchers shrieked. PAC-4 began shaking terribly from the onslaught, and I could see PAC-1 fall over and PAC-3 hunch down from the shock. A Charged Particle Blast was stronger, no doubt, but it didn’t shake this much.
When the barrage stopped, my ears were ringing horribly. The desert wind quickly blew all the smoke away. When it cleared, the Death Sniper was gone.
“Captain,” called Sifen, “Cough--Are you all right?”
“Yeah, Sifen, I’m all right. Thank goodness for Plasma Armor, right?” My sarcasm was painfully obvious.
Then, the laughter started again. “I see you, Captain of the Republic. Can you see me?”
I frantically looked at every horizon, but saw only open dunes and blowing sand.
“I have enjoyed our encounters. Even that stupid fight in the Geno Saurer. You pilots have been quite the challenge.”
“Don’t mock us, mercenary. Come out and fight!” I beckoned.
My scanning system went crazy as the Death Sniper de-cloaked right behind Sifen. Its mouth was glowing purple.
“Sifen! Eject! NOW!”
PAC-3’s cockpit swung up and Sifen rocketed into the air on a pillar of smoke. Less than a second later, the Wave-Smacker hit the red Command Wolf, cracked it, and shattered it into a billion pieces.
The Death Sniper was laughing louder than ever as Sifen parachuted down to the desert floor.
“Three down, one to go! Heehee!”
PAC-4’s cannons opened up on the Gun Sniper, but nothing was breaking. All those loose cannons and missile launchers, and nothing would break!
Firing its boosters, the GS came straight at me, firing a random pattern and pummeling my Wolf without end. I tried to evade, but the Death Sniper followed, and I didn’t get very far before PAC-4 was sent sliding across the sand on its side. The DS opened up another volley of fire, and nearly rattled my teeth out. Indestructible or not, I couldn’t take much more of this.
Warning lights activated when the Wave-Smacker started charging.
Sleep-Walking
If not for Bruno’s super-powerful coffee—which he calls “petroleum”—I wouldn’t have made it. Sifen was looking very weak, and although I had gotten more sleep than him, I knew I couldn’t look much better. His coughing was almost constant.
After about four hours the sandstorm finally broke. Sifen took position looking out the big peephole, and I took care of Kavid and Katrana. Bruno was outside trying to dig his Gustav out of the sand…
Until he came running in the door. “Hey, you guys see that?” he asked.
“See what?” I yawned.
“One of your PAC-Wolves is runnin’ towards us!”
“Sifen?” I asked, boggled that he could miss such a thing. But when I saw him, he was leaning against the wall, hard asleep.
I hated to do it, but I had to wake him up. “Sifen.” I calmly said as I shook his shoulder. He awoke in a fright, but slowly, and painfully regained his wits. “Sorry, bud but we’ve got trouble.”
“Cough! Cough! Yes, sir.” He looked out the hole and squinted. “Sir, it’s PAC-Wolf-4.”
“What?” I didn’t want to believe Bruno, but I had to believe Sifen. “Let’s get to the Command Wolves. Bruno, get Kavid and Katrana into the Gustav.”
“Right away.”
The PAC-Wolves were ankle-deep in sand, but were still in decent shape. PAC-1 still looked a bit burnt and cracked from the CPG blast, but the sand didn’t do any more harm. We had reloaded some of their ammunition with what we found in the tower, and even found a couple of usable missiles for PAC-3.
As soon as we walked around the tower, PAC-4 was in range and started shooting at us. But its shots were slow and sloppy. It had obviously been turned into a sleeper.
The problem with sleepers is the fact that they don’t stop attacking until their target is destroyed. And now, we had an indestructible one shooting at us. No matter how many times we knocked it down, it just got back up and started shooting again. It was very, very annoying.
“Sifen,” I asked his image on my HUD-Comm, “Do you have any ideas on how to stop this thing?”
“Only one, sir. The rescue lever.”
Of course. The rescue lever was able to pop open the canopy and allow access into the cockpit—in emergencies of course. Well, this seemed like an emergency.
“Corporal, use your missiles to hit it hard right next to me. I’ll jump out and get into the cockpit and detach the Sleeper AI Box.”
“Sir, at the most the PAC-Wolf will be stunned for about fifteen seconds.”
“Then I’ll make sure I’m really, really close.” I smirked and flicked off the Comm.
The next time PAC-4 lethargically attacked Sifen, I was ready. PAC-3 nailed it hard with the missiles, and it landed perfectly next to PAC-1.
“Great shot, Sifen!”
Five seconds.
I jumped down from PAC-1.
Ten seconds.
The soft sand made climbing up onto the head difficult.
Fifteen seconds.
I had just grabbed the lever when the Wolf growled and stood up. It tried to shake me off, but I had a good grip on it. I yanked the lever and the canopy slowly opened. The Zoid really started hopping and shaking now, and I couldn’t stay on much longer. I hunched over the cockpit’s side and grabbed the AI Box. Using what little strength I had left, I ripped the box off of the seat and broke the cables. PAC-4 immediately settled down. What a ride.
As I threw the AI box to the ground, I saw a dust trail racing across the desert dunes. I climbed into PAC-4’s cockpit and used the HUD to magnify the image. It was just what I was dreading.
“Sir!” called Sifen, “The Death Sniper is approaching the Imperial Tower!”
The fight with PAC-4 had moved us pretty far from the Outpost. The Sniper’s strategy was obvious now. I turned on the Comm to Bruno’s Gustav. “Bruno, the Death Sniper is approaching you. Keep it busy until we can get closer.”
“No can do, Cap’n. The Gustav is still buried too deep. I ain’t goin’ nowhere.”
“Then use your Anti-Zoid rifles!”
“Oh yeah, I got plenty of them. Roger.”
It was too late. The little Gun Sniper reached the tower and the rear doors opened for it, groaning as they pushed the sand away. The GS whipped its tail around and backed into the tower. Using the magnification on the HUD, I could see the ceiling’s blinds opening up. Robotic arms came down and removed the Gun Sniper’s missile launchers. Larger arms lowered down a massively upgraded and customized Wild Weasel Unit onto the GS. It was full of weapons, including gattling cannons, Geno Saurer cannons and missile pods. More arms reached down and attached a multitude of other weapons all over the Death Sniper’s body, including Elephander cannons, Shield Liger cannons and even more missile pods. The end result was an obscenely over-armed little Gun Sniper that had doubled its size—just with weapons.
The Death Sniper stomped out of the Tower, and Bruno started shooting at it, but he did no harm. The walking arsenal turned towards the PAC-Wolves, and opened fire.
Never in my life had I seen so many laser blasts and missiles flying in my direction. Cannons thundered, gattling guns roared and missile launchers shrieked. PAC-4 began shaking terribly from the onslaught, and I could see PAC-1 fall over and PAC-3 hunch down from the shock. A Charged Particle Blast was stronger, no doubt, but it didn’t shake this much.
When the barrage stopped, my ears were ringing horribly. The desert wind quickly blew all the smoke away. When it cleared, the Death Sniper was gone.
“Captain,” called Sifen, “Cough--Are you all right?”
“Yeah, Sifen, I’m all right. Thank goodness for Plasma Armor, right?” My sarcasm was painfully obvious.
Then, the laughter started again. “I see you, Captain of the Republic. Can you see me?”
I frantically looked at every horizon, but saw only open dunes and blowing sand.
“I have enjoyed our encounters. Even that stupid fight in the Geno Saurer. You pilots have been quite the challenge.”
“Don’t mock us, mercenary. Come out and fight!” I beckoned.
My scanning system went crazy as the Death Sniper de-cloaked right behind Sifen. Its mouth was glowing purple.
“Sifen! Eject! NOW!”
PAC-3’s cockpit swung up and Sifen rocketed into the air on a pillar of smoke. Less than a second later, the Wave-Smacker hit the red Command Wolf, cracked it, and shattered it into a billion pieces.
The Death Sniper was laughing louder than ever as Sifen parachuted down to the desert floor.
“Three down, one to go! Heehee!”
PAC-4’s cannons opened up on the Gun Sniper, but nothing was breaking. All those loose cannons and missile launchers, and nothing would break!
Firing its boosters, the GS came straight at me, firing a random pattern and pummeling my Wolf without end. I tried to evade, but the Death Sniper followed, and I didn’t get very far before PAC-4 was sent sliding across the sand on its side. The DS opened up another volley of fire, and nearly rattled my teeth out. Indestructible or not, I couldn’t take much more of this.
Warning lights activated when the Wave-Smacker started charging.
