The Sentinel Fulcrum, 19: Timing
06 Jan 2022Meowers
Shooting that thing without any cover was becoming more and more difficult. It was closing in fast, with only a few metres remaining between me and its body. One more minute and our fight will become melee. And I was running out of ammo. Pilot seat, covered in disgusting sticky liquid, was melting like an ice cream under the hairdryer. Detaching the magnetic bipod before I lose it, I've looked at the ammo counter. Just enough to break the canopy...
At last, even through the thin atmosphere, I heard a plastic crack. Creamy yanked on the handle of his advanced COVAS unit, not caring that it wasn't properly unplugged. It came out with a decent chunk of the panel it was plugged into. Then he got up and wrapped his free arm around me, and together we dodged a sharp bladed limb, and another shot from the damaged gun-barrel like appendage.
Time to leave. It took five rounds to make the cracks on the armoured glass visible, and two more to breach it completely, and remaining air blew the shards out of the ship. Abominable creature was closer and closer, and..no way I could hit so much limbs at that short time.
And then a sudden numbness paralysed my legs.
Shit!.. How much you can.. Dammit, shields dropped to zero. Right when I was about to jump.
How do I tired..of this, damn you! Stop hitting me! No time for this crap. It's aiming again... Pressing those two buttons, magboots deactivation and jump pack startup, was feeling like...years. But then a boost from both packs, mine and Creamy's, quickly lifted us off the floor...
And looking down, to see what happened to my legs, I saw an energy bolt striking right in the place where I was a moment ago. Crap... So... Shields at zero, another scorch mark on the armour, a bit above left knee, the armour plate is broken... Ah, crap...Hell sure I'll need more of those painkillers... At least I don't have to walk in zero gravity.
"Let's...get out. I'm..tired of this shit."
Thing launched its self after us with no regard for the harsh vacuum of space. It flailed its limbs and tendrils, trying to reach us, and thankfully, it couldn't get its slime pod launching appendage to aim at us as well. I've sent a few remaining rounds at the creature without any success, hitting it only once or twice. Folded bipod, numb hands, moving target... At least it stopped for a moment again. And only one mag left.
A bright light was shining behind Marshmallow, it was looking like a distant star, until it quickly grew bigger and then dissipated on the Marshmallow's shields. Behind the shot, a Type-10 loomed up behind the dwarfed Fer-de-Lance. But we were close already, bracing for impact with the hull.
"Goddamn...Folks, you're all going to die today", quietly, whispering, I let this Universe know my tactical analysis results, and then opened the entry airlock remotely. Using our jetpacks, we floated inside... I was watching my wrist computer all the way to the cockpit. Shields were still above the half, but it won't last too long... Those seconds were, maybe, the longest in my life, had to lock the rifle in the holding clamps, while my companion was taking his place in the co-pilot seat, and then..Reach my seat using only arms and this jetpack. Legs were still completely numb..I was able move them..a bit.. But unable to feel anything. And, yeah, the right arm... Shit. I was a mess.
Uh..no, next seconds were longer. I left the ship systems online, but still had to power up the engines... Shields were at forty percent already, that goddamn T-10 was too close to miss even a single shot. And the progress bar was just..sickeningly slow.
Once the startup was completed, I boosted away, squeezing the button, right towards the cursed Anaconda, and saw that..monstrous thing leaving the bridge through the breached canopy. Like it's no vacuum and no radiation. And Marshmallow slipped past it at full speed, just a few metres away.
At least there's enough ammo onboard to end this.