The Authority Brigade drones proved to be trickier. The shots were high enough they didn't immediately attract attention, but the exploding robots usually sent one or two A.C.A.B.s running to the source of the noise. Lower caliber bullets couldn't even pierce the Authority's armor. That's when Orion pulled out the Pocket Nuke, vaporizing the black and white enforcers from a distance.
When the team started to attract too much attention, Orion would lead them further in. Oftentimes they would take over a room in one of the buildings, quietly dispatching any enemies, and helping the cadets to allocate skill points. They would wait until the heat died down, then start the process again. Take out the threats, move deeper into the city, level up. And they were gaining experience like crazy. If they kept up this pace, the new recruits would reach level ten by the end of the night.
After a while Orion realized he hadn't allocated skill points for a while. He checked his stats and choked on the terrible zoffee he'd been given. His notifications were still turned off but somehow he was level twenty-one.
"How the hell?" Orion wondered.
There were soft wubs as Gemini looked up from their spot at his feet, sensing distress. Suddenly the rapid growth made sense. Apus had researched it and discovered that Gemini had been level twenty-five when Orion had fought them in the mining rig. Between defeating a boss mob and the ratillacs killed by fire traps, Orion's level had skyrocketed.
Not wanting to draw attention to himself, Orion started allocating points in different skill trees during their breaks. Orion already made some people nervous and he didn't want them thinking he was some kind of over-leveled tryhard. Thankfully, becoming Orion’s partner had reduced Gemini's level to match his own. Otherwise people might be scared of the mischievous ratillac twins.
When they reached the end of the path, the guards surveyed the destruction. The fallen skyscraper had demolished a row of buildings, rubble blocking two streets and damaging buildings on the far side. Scorched, twisted robot bodies lay all around, some of the largest ones in decent condition. A few of the bigger piles were still engulfed in green fire. There were gouges cut into buildings to either side where the Pocket Nuke sliced into the metal walls. The fatbot explosion had left a crater that was filling with water from the dripping ceiling high above.
Max looked at Orion, mouth agape. "You did all this?" he asked incredulously.
Orion waved to the ruins below, "Hey, they started it!"
Gunmetal looked over the area. "This section seems pretty clear. We could probably go down there and scavenge some parts from the bigger, less crispy robots."
Max nodded, "Good thinking. And with all the missing chunks in the BioDome overhead, we may even find some salvageable disks. Okay, let's get down there, but I want everyone on High Alert."
"Sir, what's that?"
Max and Gunmetal turned. Wynn was looking over the city and pointing towards something in the distance. The Captain walked to where the younger Terran was standing. It took him a moment to notice what she was talking about, but after squinting he saw something between two skyscrapers.
It looked like a smaller BioDome. It was hidden behind some buildings, but it seemed to extend for a few blocks. It was at least four stories at the tallest point, and oddly shaped.
"Good eye, soldier." Max complimented her. "That looks like a miniature dome. What it's doing out here I have no idea."
Orion walked over and his implant created a virtual visor over his eyes. He zoomed in on the dome and nodded. "Definitely a dome, I can see where the grid connects." Orion turned the visor off, "Apus, what's your range? Can you scout that out?"
Apus appeared on his shoulder, "At your current level I have a three hundred foot radius to work with. That dome is much further, but I can try to get a bird's eye view from above to see how populated the area is."
Gunmetal looked at Orion aghast, "Did your AI just make a joke?"
Apus preened, saying nothing.
Orion just shrugged, "Probably. Why? Is that unusual?"
Gunmetal tapped his own AI implant, "Most personal AI assistants are pretty deadpan. They don't have ‘Personality’."
"Maybe it's a Sentinel thing," speculated Orion. He nodded to Apus. "Anyway, that sounds good. Could you check out the area while we scavenge?"
"As you wish, Sir." Apus flapped and rose into the air with a trail of holographic fire.
Gunmetal pointed accusingly. "See, that's what I'm talking about! He did that just to show off. Mine barely emotes!”
Max patted his second on the shoulder. "You're talking to the last known Org in the galaxy and uses Artifact Level technology like something he bought from the corner store. It's best to just roll with it or you'll drive yourself mad." To the others he said, "Okay people, quick and quiet! Let's see what we can scrounge up!"
And scrounge they did. There were plenty of salvageable parts, Sunflare clearing the broken robot bodies easily. After the first hammer strike caused an echoing clank to ring out, Gemini used a Boss ability called
Besides collecting enough materials to craft several Dome Disks, they managed to find a handful of mod cassettes, including a rare [Poison Mod] from the remains of the fatbot. The guards focused on their task while Max and Gunmetal kept an eye out for targets.
While they worked, Ssteev stared at the freshly downed Authority Bot. He looked at his MUT, and back to the bot. Curious, he pointed the MUT to the bot and scanned it. There was a soft flash of blue light as the MUT added the recipe for Defense Drone into his crafting list. He showed this to Max, who immediately ordered everyone with a MUT to copy the recipe as well before they broke it down for parts.
As they were finishing up, Apus returned with a report. He and Orion exchanged an internal discussion. Orion turned and pointed up to indicate the team should get moving. Max walked to his team and rolled his hands in a 'wrap it up' gesture. Within moments they were climbing the ladder, Gemini riding on Orion's shoulders. When they could talk again, Orion explained the situation while Apus rested on his head.
"Apus says that the dome area is about two hundred and fifty acres across. That's a lot of BioDome discs." Orion continued, "But the area is weird. There's a lot of dead robombies around it. He couldn't see much detail from here, but we should proceed with caution."
Max nodded, "Okay, I want the MUT team building bridges across these buildings. Quick and quiet, do not engage in any combat. This is a gathering mission first and foremost. Move out!"
The team coordinated, the cadets being the most well versed in using the MUTs. They even seemed to have a better grasp on it than Orion who'd been using it longer. It was just better to hand over the raw materials to the cadets as they practically jogged over the roofs.
Orion tried to keep pace but after a few hours he started to feel extremely fatigued. Gemini was acting strangely too, tugging at Max’s pant legs and then running circles around the flagging Org. At first he was worried that Gemini had fallen back on old habits, but Orion Max shooting him concerned looks. The Captain ordered the team to make camp for the night.
It was almost evening as they stopped, choosing to camp in an office building a few streets away from the dome. Through the semi-translucent dome they could see several different biomes. One was filled with a thick canopy of trees, another with a seemingly active volcano, a third was made up of giant mushrooms. Orion wondered if it was some kind of research center for testing terraforming techniques.
On the street side, a tall ornate concrete fence blocked off the dome from everyday passersby. The entirety of the wall was painted with animals from different alien homeworlds. The dome rose up from projectors on the fence, and piles of rusted corpses partly obscured the scratched painting. Some strange animals could still be seen on the faded mural.
Gunmetal pointed, "Look, there's a picture of a Great Plains Stinkhorn! Those have been extinct for centuries!"
"And that's a Dodo. What on Terra have we stumbled onto here?" Max asked.
The strangest thing about it all was in the center of the misshapen dome was a tree. The bark was dark brown, almost black, and the trunk was twisted and warped. It looked as if multiple smaller trees had braided around one another to support themselves. It weaved unevenly through the air, pushed clean through the dome, then up through the Sky Dome to burrow into the dirt overhead. The tree was so thick the dome had sealed around it, preserving the atmosphere inside. Dozens of branches spread out near the roof, thin tentacle-like things with sharp thorns. The branches formed a barrier that hoisted the sinking ceiling up, preventing a cave-in that would surely destroy the shielded structure below.
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As the others tried to make sense of the structure, Orion sat down on a decaying office chair. He was sweating buckets and having trouble breathing. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this bad. Gemini curled at his feet protectively, worry evident on their visors.
"Hey, Max. I'm gonna turn in early," Orion rasped weakly. "I'm sorry, I feel like garbage."
Max waved the apology away, "Get some rest. Your job was getting us here, we can handle the rest."
Orion nodded and pulled his bedroll out of his inventory and moved towards a corner. As he walked he heard Turbo (or was it Nitro?) mutter to Blaze.
"You see that? There's movement down there, but it's just really slow."
Orion glanced out a window. There was movement down there. The entire street was filled with robombies, but these ones were almost completely rusted over. They shuffled together but there was literally nowhere to go, creating a slow undulating wave of bodies. It was like a shag carpet made of deadly robots.
"How are we supposed to get past that?" asked Blaze (Possibly Jade?).
‘How indeed?’ thought Orion. But that was someone else's problem for now. His head was splitting, hurting so bad the vision in his right eye was getting blurry. He curled up behind a thicket of dusty artificial plants and tried to sleep. Gemini curled up with him, keeping a nervous watch over their partner.
Orion groaned as we was woken up by an alarm. A shrill ‘Woop Woop Woop!’ was echoing in the nearly empty office space. He turned, groping for the alarm clock to shut it off. He felt feverish, and his whole body ached.
"Shut that off!" Max whispered harshly to the stirring soldiers. "I said we need to keep radio silent!"
Gunmetal whispered back, "It's not me, Captain."
Orion heard movement as the guards started to stir. He slapped the ground more, looking for the source of the noise. His fingers brushed the furry back of Gemini, feeling his back speaker was popped open. He pressed it down gently and the alarm cut off with the sound of a car fob locking the door. He cracked his eyes opened and stilled as he saw his reflection in Gem’s helmet.
Orion's implants were growing at an exponential rate. The only way to describe it was as if his cybernetics were devouring his flesh. The metal was digging into skin, the affected areas raised and irritated. The brain implant had taken over half his face and neck. A second eye formed in the metal above his natural one, with black sclera and red pupils similar to Major’s skull mask. Under his shirt the back plates were growing over his shoulders, knife-like protrusions tearing through his windbreaker. Most of the transformation was hidden under clothing but what could be seen was the stuff of nightmares.
Orion stood stiffly, his joints not working properly. As he rose to his full height, the guards slowly reached for their holsters. Orion asked Max, "It's bad, isn't it."
Max held up his hands, his voice artificially light and reassuring, "No, no…it's…probably nothing. Just in case though, let's get you back to Phoenix."
Orion looked past him, "They don't seem to agree."
Max turned his head slightly and saw every other person in the room with guns aimed at the mutating Org. Ssteev was shaking so badly his rifle rattled.
"Let's not worry about them." Max hid one hand behind his back and frantically waved at the soldiers to stand down. "We've hit a snag here anyway. We need to head back and regroup. We've got enough supplies to turn in anyway."
Orion limped over to a window and inspected it. His thoughts were fuzzy, but he mulled over the situation. He shook his head and started heading to the fire escape they had used to access this floor.
"No. There's too much at stake here. We need to know what's inside that structure." Orion paused to wave Gemini over. The now quiet Ratillac King scrambled up and clung to his shoulders. "I'll draw them off. Then you can get inside."
Max walked closer, "Orion, you don't need to do this, man! We can fix this!"
"Can we?" Orion asked. He waved to the crowd below, "They didn't, and they built an advanced society while still using floppy disks. If I stay here, how long before I'm just like that rusty janitor? Or worse."
Gunmetal spoke up, "Maybe, but why now? You've been here almost a month, why is this just starting to happen?"
"That's for you to figure out." Orion stepped outside, "Have Dr. Birchett launch my spawn point into space. Or bury it or something. I won't allow myself to hurt anyone in the colony."
Before Max could convince him to turn back, Orion slipped out the window and scaled the fire escape. Max pursued him, but before he could even reach the ladder Orion took a running leap to the next roof. It was clear he wasn't going to make it, maybe his plan was to plunge to his doom. As he arched downward, the Professor’s improved peg leg suddenly propelled him upward with a flash of fire. The Org barely crested the parapet, stumbled but kept his balance with Gemini acting as a counterweight. He kept running, double jumping across the gaps between skyscrapers.
"Dammit! Gunmetal, get the troops ready to move! Orion's going to give us a window of opportunity and I'll be damned if I squander it." Max pulled up his Colony HUD and called Dr. Birchett. When she answered he filled her in on the situation.
Junip groaned, "That noble idiot. I shouldn't have put those thoughts in his head."
"Huh?" Max asked , perplexed.
Junip shook her head, "I made a miscalculation. I'll make preparations. Keep me updated. And Max?"
"Yeah?"
"You be careful out there too," the doctor ordered. "I already have one heroic dingus to deal with. Don't you come back to me injured. Or your troops."
"Roger that. Thrustar out." Max cut the feed.
Max turned to the soldiers gathered behind him, "You heard the Doc. No heroes. This is an intel and resource gathering mission. If it gets too hot, we get out. Let's move!"
The guards moved down the fire escape, keeping close to the wall. They were in an alleyway which helped to keep them out of sight. Stopping on the second story landing, Max called for them to halt. He waited there patiently.
Ten minutes had passed before Gunmetal tentatively asked, "What are we waiting for?"
In the distance there was a sudden cacophony of sound, like a house party mixed with car alarms and the occasional fart reverb. There was a flash of light and the troops could see the Pocket Nuke's beam slice through the crowd of rusted robots. The entire street turned and started to shuffle jog toward the sound. There was a rhythmic thumping as an Authority Brigade streaked past the alley entrance towards the commotion, trambling robots underfoot.
"Whoa!" Ssteev uttered.
Max looked behind him, “What happened?"
Ssteev looked up with wonder, “I just leveled up!"
"Me too," Wynn added.
Max looked back at the crowd. "We're still in Orion’s squad. He must be racking up experience. Just how many is he actually fighting out there? He's insane!"
Gunmetal said, "He is a Sentinel. They were known to survive against impossible odds."
Max frowned, "Yeah but that doesn't make the pain he suffers any less intense, or the sacrifice he's making any less meaningful. I don't want anyone thinking we can just use him as some kind of meat shield whenever we need bait."
The troops fell silent at that sobering thought. After another ten minutes the crowd started to thin out, and by twenty there were only a few stragglers left. Max held up a hand and sliced his palm forward in a 'Move Out' motion. He started down the last few flights of stairs and the rest followed. By the time they reached the street there were still a few random runners shuffling nearby, but these completely ignored them.
Turning his head, he could see why. Five blocks away the music was still blaring, and there was some kind of light show projecting images of arrows and angry Org faces on the sides of buildings. As he watched, another skyscraper in the distance took enough damage that it started to collapse under its weight with a deafening roar of tortured metal and glass.
Gunmetal gaped at the destruction as a level-up notification pinged for him, "Right. No taking advantage of the huge, angry force of nature. Got it."
The cadre of assorted species dodged a few runners that didn't even glance their way as they searched for the entrance to the outer wall. About a block down the road they finally found a large ornate entryway. It was a building with four ticket booths that were completely clogged with more rusting corpses, blocking any entrance. On either side of the structure were two statues of friendly looking cyworgs, and a big neon sign with the middle letter flickering advertised the dome.
Unfortunately it was written in Orgish, Max’s implant unable to translate its meaning. The only one who might have a hope of reading it was battling an army to the death half a mile away. Gunmetal took a screen with his own implant for Orion to read later.
As the MUT squad cleared away the disintegrating robot bodies, Max watched their flank. As soon as the way was clear the team started to move in. Max was about to follow after Hawk (or was he going by Viper now?) when movement caught his eye. Sparks were spraying through the air as something squeezed through the gap between two buildings. A head peered out of the alley, a second upside-down face attached to the first face.
Scraping through the thin alleyway, this modded robombie looked like a huge ball made up of smaller robots all mashed together. The main body was roughly spherical, supported by three misshapen trunk-like legs. Limbs and faces were sprouting everywhere, as well as vehicle parts, rebar poles and one metal sink. The ball body didn't have arms, but it slowly rotated its bulk towards Max and the middle split open like a bear trap. It roared, and Max felt his sidearms pulled towards the creature. One of the pistols slipped his grip and went sailing into the mouth before being pulverized.
Max ran into the entrance, catching up with the straggling cadets and literally picking Ssteev and Wynn up by the collars before hauling them through the dome. The path inside led to a large open courtyard. It looked as if it had once been some kind of park, but everything was so overgrown it was hard to tell. Plant life from several different worlds had grown together from different directions, each vying for total floral domination. The plants all formed a tangled mesh around a statue in the center of the midway.
Gunmetal looked over at the panicked Captain as he dropped the cadets at his feet, "What happened?"
There was a crash as the mouth robombie smashed into the ticket booth. It chomped at the air, and even at this distance the soldiers could feel a tug on their weapons. The monster was too big to fit, and the snapping jaws just barely touched the inside of the dome as it struggled to push deeper. Max opened fire at it and the rest of the troops followed suit. It didn't do any noticeable damage, and the packed robot tried to squeeze in further.
Ssteev's voice cracked as he fired, "Maybe we can get Mr. Starbeard back here to help us out with this?"
But before anyone could answer, the squad got a notification.
[Orion Starbeard Has Died]