Jeurridam Ch. 15: Wastelands FPT2.

I ran up behind him leaping onto his back. I slammed his head into the computer terminal, knocking him briefly unconscious, I tied him up along with the rest of his force. He watched as I circled about.

"Okay rotor team, I have taken control of the hangar... clear me a path..." I responded.

"Why the hell are you doing this?" The commander asked out.

"You have allies of ours here... We protect our own! People matter... unlike the lives you're willing to lay waste for damn machines..." I responded, heading over to the detained kids. The first person I freed was Basil. I broke his zip ties so he could stand. He was hurt mighty badly, barely able to get to his feet, "Damn, they pulled a number on you..."

"I thought you weren't coming..." He said. His eyes were nearly swollen shut.

"They beat you?" I asked, not pleased in the slightest to see him like this.

"Yeah, me and a few others..." He said.

"And I had the last minute decision not to use lethal force because of the kids in here but damn that makes me wanna reconsider, I said clenching the bridge of my nose, "Just help me free the others..." I sighed, trying to remain calm, "Did they hurt anyone badly?"

"Yeah, they beat Cyclone to death... he refused everything they said for him to do... They did it to make a statement..." Basil said, freeing another detainee. It took some serious will power to restrain my powers from making this place quake. The energy just welled within me, begging to come out.

The more detained freed, the faster things went along.

"Just how exactly do you plan on moving all of these kids?" The commander asked obnoxiously. It truly got beneath my skin.

"If you have any value for your life, I wouldn't suggest uttering another word..." I said through the grit of my teeth.

"But I don't..." The commander smiled. His forces looked on in dread, remembering that night in the BrainEngine control room. Still though, I didn't want to touch these people. Remembering what could be left in the wake of my anger, it was wise for me not to continue engaging with the revivalists. It was time to get out of here.

The captives were freed! Many of them held up their injured as we all neared the hangar bay.

"Is path outside the hangar clear?" I asked over the air.

"No, there are a few mechs lurking about... We have the tanks engaging us on the south end." Zeek said.

"Okay, wedge yourself between us and the tanks. Big Daddy, Emann, Orb, clear me a path... Rotor team, you're gonna be escorting us in! We need to keep this tight..." I said.

"Roger." Rotor team responded.

"How are you gonna move us? Where are we gonna go? These are things I need to know! These are my people on the line, here!" Basil demanded, quite concerned.

"Trust me..." I said, placing a hand on his shoulder before turning back to face the massive crowd of captives, "I want the youngest in the center of the crowd and the eldest members on the outside... There are going to be some big and scary things outside this wall but I won't let anything happen to you! There will be heroes out there, laying their lives on the line to protect you! All you have to do, is keep moving!"

I made my way towards the armaments that were sitting in the corners of the hangars, tossing assault rifles to the eldest of the kids. These weapons wouldn't do much against the tanks and mechs but it gave them enough security. One kid, however, looked at the gun, quite lost.

"You know how to work it?" I asked.

"No..." He said, terrified.

"This," I said, pulling on the latch just in front of the clip, "Is the safety. This," I said, pulling back a spring loaded lever, "Is the reload... hold the gun up to the corner of your chest, look down the sights and aim... When you squeeze the trigger, shoot in bursts! It saves ammo and reduces spread..."

"Okay..." He nodded. I patted him on the shoulder, rushing back over the gait.

"We're ready when you are Zanir..." The radio buzzed.

"Good luck!" The commander smiled sinisterly. The look on his face showed that there was something else in store for us... My gut was nudging me to hurry up and get these kids as far away from here as possible... Things were going to take a turn.

"I know I should kill you but I can't..." I said through the grit of my teeth, truly wishing I could. I pulled the lever on the hangar door, the door slowly rolling open. I squeezed my watch, "When we're a safe distance away... Blow up the hangar..."

"Roger..." Alistair responded.

Upon opening the door, the wreckage could be seen. Fragments of the juggernaut ships lay everywhere. The fodder of cannons exploded in the distance. Fallen tanks, mechs and racers littered the ground. Sandles came in on a rotor bike, waving the kids forth!

"Come on and follow me!" He shouted over the roar of everything. The humongous crowd began to make their way out of the hangar, following Sandles. Beth, Heaven and Alistair provided additional support, creating a highly mobile encampment of heavy tank destroying artillery.

June and Julio roared by on their hover bikes, engaged with the number of mechs nearby. They disappeared behind rubble, the distinct sounds of their cannons reverberating across the wreckage. I ran over to Basil, the boy having to be toted between several men.

"How you holding up?" I asked.

"I could be doing better..." He said quite stiff, "Where are we going?"

"THEY'RE HEADING TO THE SHIP!! QUICK CLOSE THE GAIT!!" Someone inside the hangar screamed.

"Alastair, blow it up now!!" I shouted.

"On it!" Alistair responded, blasting the inside of the hangar with as much fodder as he could. Debris began to fall, but the hangar gait still closed. Alistair continued to fire but the outside of the hangar was too structurally strong to succumb to the ferocious blasts. This wasn't at all a good sign. Those monsters were safe within the confines of that hangar! God knows what they had in store for us!

"The remainder of us have flanked around the tanks... We're pressing towards you all." Zeek said over the air.

"How many of you are left." I asked.

"Sixteen to twenty... We've been getting whipped and we have a shit ton of racers on our asses... This is looking grim, Zanir." He responded.

"Just hold on a little longer! We're almost there!" I said back.

"INCOMING!" June screamed. A manticore came rushing towards the survivors. As it did, it was blasted to bits by the cannon of June's rotor bike. The mech fell, the crowd warping around it like a single mass steadily heading for the ship.

More and more mechs began to pop out of the ruins, grabbing a survivor and disappearing again. Panic was beginning to spread! The mechs were proving to be just too much for our forces!

"Zanir, you know what you might have to do!" Beth warned.

"I know... but that's a last resort! If I have to do it you all get the fuck out of here! For now, you and June pair up! Same with Julio and Heaven. Watch each other's back and shoot down anything that isn't on our frequency! Big Daddy, Emann and ORB, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" I asked.

"We're doing all we can, but these mechs are resourceful..." Big Daddy said back.

"Well keep it up! I'm trying to think of something..." I responded.

"Where are your blades, Zanir?" Beth asked, "Swarm protocol!"

"MY BLADES!!" I said, quick to activate the program! Swarm protocol sent the blades in mass to attack anything on foreign frequencies. I set up a perimeter around the survivors, the blades quick to act to any threat. All it took was one well-placed blade to down a mech, "Done..."

"Okay..." Beth said, her and June rotating around each other. She rode an all-black dual blade rotor bike. It was thin and streamlined but quite exposed compared to the heavier duty one June rode. However, it still had just the same amount of stopping power! On the front of the rotor bike was the same seventy five millimeter cannon that the buggies used to destroy the tanks. She fired blast after blast at the fast moving manticores, dropping them with one shot. Still though, the numbers were dense. A bolder mech came screeching in, claws outstretched.

"SHIT!" She screamed, jamming the the left pedal. She quickly darted out of the way before maxing out the throttle. The bike leapt up as she pitched the nose of the bike down. June turned around swiftly, firing a debilitating shot at the mech. The blast moved the mech right up under Beth's cannon. She fired, the mech lighting up in flames. The bike came back down to the ground only to be rushed upon by another mech.

Somehow, the girl managed to dodge this. As she moved out the way, the mech ended up in the lines of sight of June. He blasted the manticore to bits, the anti-tank round taking its head clean off! He and Beth got right back into position, covering each other's sixes taking out the mechs that came.

"We're managing better this way..." Beth said.

"Yeah we are!" June added.

"Good, we're almost there!" I responded, looking forward, "Zeek..." The buggies had arrived! It was so relieving to see them! This meant we had more stopping power to aid in defending the survivors.

"We're here..." Zeek said, just as a buggy behind him blew up. He quickly turned his buggy around, seeing waves of racers sprinting out, surrounding us all.

"Julio, Alistair... Sandles, engage the racers! Heaven you take up the rear and make sure nothing comes from behind! We're so close" I said.

"Okay!" The boys said, getting into position.

The racers weaved through the wreckage on their greyhound-like bodies.

"I see that Zanir boy..." A racer pilot said, "Going in!" The racer continued to make his way through the ship wreckage, moving so fast, I only caught glimpses. Just as he came into view, he was blasted to bits by Sandle's cannons.

"No you don't..." Sandles said, quick to turn towards the main fight. He pushed the throttle forward, accelerating quickly behind the tail of a racer. A few sharp turns later and he filled the lightly armored craft with the explosive round of the tank buster cannon! Its parts ricocheted in a bright explosion.

"What the?" Another racer asked, quick to get on Sandles tail. The racer fired his fixed vulcan cannon, "Sir they have some type of hover bike..."

"Take them out!" The commander said.

"RAGH, that demon's still alive!" I screamed, quite frustrated. The ground wobbled a little, my powers begging to be released. This commander, the same man who captured Zeek, the same man who had me strapped into that machine beneath the lake, could so easily bring out the worst in me!

Just as the racer's bullets streaked past Sandles, he yanked the right yolk backwards. He ascended in a steep vertical climb, forcing the pursuing racer to fly.

"Sir, that thing can fly! SIR IT CAN...RAGGGGH!!" The racer pilot said as a bullet ruptured the vehicle. It exploded sending bits and pieces flying everywhere.

"What can fly?" The commander asked.

"The hover bikes!!" Another racer pilot said, "The thing just went up in the air, looped around and shot us!! These are what have been taking out our tanks! They're fast! Ungodly fast!"

"Hoverbikes..." The commander laughed, "Oh jesus, these are what these pathetic lowlanders have been using... They think they've won? Let them get to the ship..."

"Zanir, you hearing this, right?" Alistair asked, hot on the tail of a racer.

"I most certainly did. I'm starting to think this was a very, very bad idea. Orb scan the ship for anything... Dormant mechs, a remote detonation device! Anything!" I said. She swooped down beginning the long scanning process. Despite being about the fifth the size of a juggernaut, the brigate ships were still massive and incredibly dense!! However they were relatively primitive and easily hacked so stealing one was a feasible idea.

We were a little over halfway there and the battle wasn't slacking. Sandles continued to make high speed runs, taking shots then disappearing before he could be fired upon. Beth and June continued to engage the numerous mechs. Alistair and Julio both took on numerous ground targets surrounding the area... Anything that gave the dwindling buggies a hard time was dealt with by Alistair.

It made the fight between the two dozen or so odd tanks, several dozen racers and the handful of buggies much more balanced. Julio was really good at driving his tri-blade. It was a matte gray beauty, in between the heft of Sandles's and the leanness of Beth and Heaven's. It had downward facing stabilizers and keen agility. Unlike the other rotor bikes, his cannon could move when traveling at low speed and track targets with onboard computers. It made his rotor-bike incredibly lethal in low visibility.

Julio entered a narrow gully between two ship fragments that had fallen. Even through debris and walls, the sensors tracked the racers. As the racers tried to flank around him at high speed, using cover to their advantage, they'd be blasted. His pulse detection, low frequency sonar warned him of dangers in his surroundings. He'd turn, his tank buster cannon locking on to a target and taking aim. A shot was fired, ripping a hole through the debris. A large structure fell allowing Julio to use it as a ramp.

He sped across it, rejoining Alistair in this battle. Alistair was surrounded by nimble racers but didn't worry. He had the heaviest built rotor bike, fully encased in an angular aerodynamic armor. His rotors had six blades each to compensate for the extra mass. His stabilizers were also much larger than the other rotor bikes, being variable geometric.

On the nose of his rotor bike stood dual tank buster cannons with a laser lance in the middle. Alistair's rotor bike was robust enough to carry the extra artillery but just as nimble as the rest.

"Now Cheshie!!" Alistair said as he maxed out the throttle. His rotor bike rocketed up in a steep vertical climb, leaving the racers perplexed.

Suddenly a very advanced buggy, one with magnetic suspension, came leaping over the debris with the same agility as a racer. Its cannon aimed at the racers, taking multiple shots while in midair. Alistair aimed his massive cannons as well, taking some very lethal shots. Not wanting to be left out, Julio lept of the fallen support, adding the last decimating blow to the racers. The speedy machines scattered, desperate to find another area to regroup.

"Sir the buggies and hoverbikes are too much..." A racer pilot asked.

"Just wait..." The commander responded, full of wicked anticipation.

No one liked the sound of this. These appalling people had something else planned for us.

"Zanir, you definitely hearing this, right?" Alistair asked.

"Yeah... Um, Orb, how are those scans coming along?" I asked in response.

"About fifty percent completed..." She said.

"Please hurry... I don't like this outlook!" I said.

"I'm trying!" She said.

"Big Daddy, help her!" I responded.

"I can't..." He responded, prying the jaws of a manticore apart, "Hands full..."

"Fuck..." I sighed, trying to keep my cool. It made me wonder how in control of my powers could I actually be. Could I manipulate things down to a particle level or were they all based on the level of my emotions! This was important because if I could destroy the hoover dam with my mind, I could save every life here today but only if I was in control! That same power I could use to save everyone here could so easily destroy them. Ultimately the risk wasn't worth it, not yet anyways...

"Shit, Zanir... THEY'RE COMING YOUR WAY!! MECHS!!" Big Daddy screamed. I turned, seeing three large manticores sprinting as fast as they could. There was no time to react. I put up both of my hand bracing for the impact only to feel a pulse leave my body.

The mechs were flung into a chunk of wreckage, causing the debris to collapse over them. We were engulfed in a wall of dust. Alistair and June came over, clearing out the dust with the rotor bike's blades.

"I saw that!" June said, "Do you think you can do that again?"

"I don't know." I responded, looking around for something else I could test on.

"It can make or break our efforts. Please try Zanir..." Alistair said, circling around for any threats. I looked at a fallen mech on the ground, extending out my hand. With some thought, it began to rise of the ground. As I realized this was from my doing, it fell. These powers were wonky, but seemed to work best when I wasn't trying to concentrate. They seemed to work as an extension of the body, much like my blades.

"I think I know what to do..." I said, rising off the ground.

"Zanir, a tank's busting through a wall we knocked down..." Zeek said, his buggy backing over towards us. There was a huge wall of debris that the buggy pilots shot down to make a barrier between us and the tanks. This wall of debris was about to shatter any minute with the heavy tanks pushing against it.

It was a tedious few seconds, seconds that seemed to stretch out for hours. Silence hit us all as we waited for the damn near unstoppable force to break through. They did, firing their explosive rounds at us, knocking down tons of debris. It was a reflex to extend out my hand, freezing the debris midair. I then flung it at the tank, causing it and several others to explode.

Upon realizing what I did, I came back down to the ground. These powers of mine were in incredible challenge to use. They required a free concentration-less mind for them to work, one full of emotion and adrenaline and irrational thought, and right now I was relatively calm and as rational as I could possibly be. The brain implant could be thanked for that.

Still though, the tanks came at full force, followed by racers. On the other side, a number of mechs were rushing forth like hell-borne beasts! Big Daddy and Emann definitely had their hands filled. However, it didn't matter. We had just arrived at the ship.

"Orb?" I called out.

"Scann almost complete... ninety seven percent done..." She said.

"ZANIR!!" Big Daddy said, swooping in fast, landing just before me.

"Oh my god..." Alistair said, stopping his engagement with the enemy. The deep whirring of thrusters caught everyone's attentions. All eyes locked onto the skies as the big invincible frame of a juggernaut came flying over our head. The Revivalist reinforcements had arrived...

"We still have a tiny window of time..." Alistair said.

Suddenly an arcbeam, an incredibly dense laser, fired from behind us. It shot a hole right through Big Daddy! He collapsed on the ground, circulatory fluid draining. We all turned to see a giant mech we've become all too familiar with. It was a Valley Mech, better known as a crab scorpion. The massive mech towered above all, with several thick tree-trunk sized legs and a hull that was incredibly armor proof... And it had just... killed... my father...

All I could remember was the ground beginning to quake. A large atmospheric depression formed around the ship. Suddenly it began to collapse in on itself as the crab scorpion walked off its cargo bay. Everything before me began to collapse into nothingness, rising above the ground. Somehow, the crab scorpion fell out of the wreckage to the ground. It landed upside down, legs squirming as its soft underbelly was exposed.

Emann came in from a screeching sprint, dozens of manticores on his tail. He lept up, firing a pulse blast at the crab scorpion. It was ripped open by the blast but not destroyed. He fired another, one that tore a hole clean through the mech's core. The giant monster was dead...

I collapsed to my knees, everything shaking around me. Tears streamed down my face as I scrambled over to Big Daddy. He was fading fast!

"No... NO!!" I screamed.