Of course Melhof had realized something was going on when the security team for the event stopped humoring the media and made their 'suggestions' now thinly veiled orders to evacuate to someplace safe. They did so with a tone that made it clear that this was not up for discussion or argument anymore, something that the local reporters quickly picked up on and complied with. The foreign ones were a bit more resistant, insisting on remaining at the scene regardless. Ordinarily, that was an attitude that the Director of Broadcast could certainly respect.
However, they did so with a tone that made it clear it was borne not out of determination to capture the story, but instead out of corporate ladder climbing. They cited how they'd been sent by their megacorp master, so it should be the soldiers standing in front to protect them wherever they might be. They ought to be the one risking their lives to preserve the shot instead of mitigating the risk to themselves.
The producers wanted to slug one of them on behalf of the very put-upon mercenaries. Even war correspondents knew better than to use their subjects as body shields.
But, tempting as it was, his new position meant it would be a black mark on the Cavia Committee. So he had to refrain with a shake of the head, quietly instructing his lot to comply with the orders for the time being. They understandably weren't happy either, as it definitely spoiled their chances of breaking whatever bigger story was going on in this secured location. But they were at least safe, being one less worry for the soldiers to fret about when their lives were possibly on the line.
He hoped that the obstinate Purview Media team, in their foolishness, didn't end up distracting and killing any of them by their proximity to the likely danger.
"Producer!" Any further thoughts on the matter were cut-off when a fellow reporter from one of the subsidiaries CBS linked through came up with wide eyes. In their hands, they held out a tablet. "I was just browsing the omninet, look what I found!"
Melhof's eyebrows shot up when he took in what was going on within the screen. A mech brawl, in this very city he realized! He recognized the vehicle they were fighting on top as one of the government's, allowing him to connect some dots regarding what had gone on. A convoy ambush then.
What was more interesting was this livestream. The point of view was from...it had to be a mech, actually broadcasting the encounter with pilot commentary. One that sounded chirpy, energetic, and importantly? On their side with how they described they were going to 'kick this stupid snake's *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP.*'
Oh interesting. They had one of those self-censor programs capable of live editing. Something that a few others used a variant of to help censor faces for unfiltered crowd interviews. Did that mean their voice was also perhaps adjusted?
Then more mechs appeared to turn this into a bigger fight, and he shook himself out of his thoughts. This was a story- so he had a duty to carry out. "Get this broadcast to our teams! I want this playing on every network we have- showing that whoever these criminals are, we're not letting them have their way with us!"
"Yes sir!"
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It felt damn good to be back in her Genghis. And it felt even better to be the fire again.
Her steed took one heavy step after another through the ruined street, letting her overtaxed boosters cool off just a little bit. They could perhaps vent better if she opened the flaps, but Erica judged it too risky with how the enemy combatants could get a lucky shot in on her internals through them. All it took was one rocket to an exposed shaft to possibly compromise her core. As if proving her point now, one such projectile streaked out to strike her machine, hitting the cockpit glass directly.
Her of so long ago might have shrieked and recoiled. Her of today simply exhaled a cloud of smoke from her lit cigarette, knowing that the material was far tougher than that. The Mark 2 even had been designed specifically to withstand the force from ammunition cooking off in front of the machine, a suggestion from pilots of the Mark 1 'Worldkiller.'
Because sometimes, one waned to feel the burn too.
Her system swiftly went to work in tagging and marking the robotic assailants. Even before they were identified as hostile targets, the nozzle of her weapon swung up and took aim. She only waited for the almost cheerful confirmation that these subalterns were not property of either Harrison Armory or the Cavia Committee. Like the machine itself was eager for the flame as well.
Well, she'd better oblige as one of the drones took aim with another rocket launcher.
Her shoulder-mounted laser fired to neutralize the danger first, bright beam crossing and striking the chassis in the center mass. The body was instantly breached and it collapsed, definitely spoiling its shot. Then Erica pulled the trigger for her flamethrower in her hands and turned the ruined pavements into an inferno sea, chemical gases passing through the igniter and turning the air itself into a mirror of hell. Or at least one man's version of it.
It wasn't like these robots could understand it though, being clearly non-thinking and uncomprehending of their own existence. They attempted to charge and rush her, one of them even taking out a det pack to likely try sticking her with. Before they could even cross a measure of distance, Erica was already coolly swinging her flamethrower around.
The torrent was hardly so composed as it engulfed the frames, heating them up to a brilliant glow that saw parts melt and electronics fry. The det pack one clutched even went up, set off by the intense heat and bursting like a firework popper.
Finally, she released the pressure on the trigger and beheld her work. Blackened and warped bodies laid strewn about, practically unrecognizable now from being set alight. Many even still burned merrily, pyres made of steel and code. The lancer exhaled, not sure if she should feel relieved these were artificial bodies instead of real ones.
Or if she could even feel it at all anymore.
A sudden gunshot from behind broke her from those thoughts and she whirled around, heavy weapon coming up to restart the work. It lowered when she realized that Everest advancing up, rifle barrel still smoking from the discharge. "You missed one."
Erica blinked and checked. A piece of wall collapsed, revealing the subaltern armed with a bazooka behind it. "Hm. Suppose I did."
"You could have smoked them out if you were willing to fire straight into the buildings," Rowles remarked in a matter-of-fact manner. "You didn't."
"No confirmation that there aren't civilians in them, or friendlies even."
"Good point, though I can say on the former, area seems to be mostly clear of civvies." The major's mech tilted its head slightly. "On the latter though, you have a point. Lots of groups ahead entrenched in their positions, holding out for us. So watch your fire."
Her Genghis gave a single nod, then turned to continue the march. Two steps later, Erica recalled something as matter of fact. "Tell them to seal up their suits. It should protect them if I need to burn the establishments to flush them clean."
"What? Ah, they're Harrison Armory models, aren't they? Which means they're made for deployment with the Genghis in mind."
"Very much so." She hadn't missed the Everest slightly limped, a clear sign of battle damage, but knew better than to suggest a proud officer retreat while her soldiers were still on the field. "Be my liaison between them though, just in case. If a suit is breached, I'm not taking that chance."
Rowles nodded, silently appreciating the offer to be the rear support while Harrison Armory took the front. "Wilco. Following your lead, lancer."
Bah. Her, one of the cavalry elite? She'd rather a pay raise.
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Lancers, I was aware of, were bullshit.
I knew this to be true already from hearing about how Erica had almost soloed boarding La Azul. There were some recordings as well which really nailed the point. But I guess it was thing to learn and see it in retrospect; another to see the absolute danger that was one live on the scene.
Exchanging blows with another Goblin while occasionally waving a hand out to one of the other HORUS mechs approaching, and then clenching their first. The motion coinciding with the target machine suddenly falling flat like a puppet with its strings cut wasn't lost on me. But worryingly, I also noticed how they sometimes did it with friendly Everests too, earning no small amount of growing anger from my side and brief confusion on my part.
I realized the reason when one tried to sight their weapon on the armored vehicle, only to twitch and collapse too when that lancer briefly disabled them. Literally, the pilot was already getting their systems back up. "All units! Watch your fire, your rounds can and will damage the vehicle the VIP is in!" I blasted through the comms as soon as I was within range. "Focus fire instead on the enemy mechs approaching the road!"
"Who- Commander, sir!" a friendly sputtered, almost twitching to an immediate salute. Which would have been a very stupid thing to do in an active fight, so they thankfully held back at the last moment. "Awaiting your orders!"
"I think I just gave them to you," I gently reminded, causing them to flush while dry chuckles echoed through the radio. Ah, that was maybe a little mean, so time for maybe a little humor to lighten things up. But it was also imperative to remain focused. "If any of you still need clarification, don't shoot the ones without guns. Shoot the ones with."
That earned a more genuine laugh from the assorted pilots, then they sobered up and heeded my commands. It was quite a sight to witness them in action, using a mix of physical running alongside timed booster activation to keep up with the slowed but still rolling vehicle. It was almost like they were skating on ice in some ways, gliding across the road at times. All the while they fought too, firing into the seemingly never-ending horde of HORUS machines leaping at the group from various alleys and corners.
There really were quite a lot of them, which did make me furrow my eyebrows slightly. I recalled how a lot of HORUS mechs usually were just converted civilian machines, spiced up with a good heaping of paracasual technology, so maybe this was to be expected of an actual HORUS operation. It wasn't like the tabletop actually ever went into detail of what one such engagement looked like, to the best of my recollection.
But at the same time, given how decentralized their organization was, their numbers ought to be on the low side too. I'd have expected them to be acting in smaller groups, almost like cells or sects. This was far too many of them.
Veronica provided my answer then as she engaged the Chomolungma's battle protocol and engaged in the fire on my behalf. Her aim wasn't the best, but an assault rifle had plenty of rounds to tag and down one of the small mechs. It crumpled into a burst of sparks and she reported, "Commander, sensors report no life-signs in these machines."
"So they're drones."
"Indeed sir, which correlates with the report delivered by Rowles earlier." The machine roared as she triggered the boosters to try and get us closer to the center of this engagement. "These are certainly high-end models though to be able to fight with mechs. To have so many especially is indicating a well-funded opposition."
"Maybe not." My gaze turned to focus on the Goblin fistfight on the armored vehicle and I let out a thoughtful hum. I had a little theory I wanted to confirm, so I access the electronic warfare interface and looked through the realm of cyberspace. While Veronica fought in the real world, I gaze through a rendition of the data stream. "Aha."
"Sir?"
"The Goblin, V1P3R- they're the puppeteer behind all these drones," I concluded, seeing how lines traced from them to each and every other mech. Very detailed ones at that, blasting vast amounts of data that would likely have been picked up had it not been for the media coverage of the ceremony that was supposed to have happened. "They're not autonomous."
"Commander, the processing power necessary for such is a vast expense. I can scarcely imagine the magnitude it would take for such an activity."
"Which is why the one in the Goblin is a drone too, leading to elsewhere." It was a cord that stretch up high into the sky, connecting over what was surely a vast distance that I couldn't imagine was anywhere near here. Maybe it led to a world consisting nothing but a single supercomputer assets, vast data centers blanketing the land to provide however much computational hardware was necessary for this lonesome act. It was a baffling display of power and might, because if one could stretch that far, then why not go further or elsewhere? Why all this?
There had to be a limitation somewhere. A weakness to pay for this reach.
I continued observing, and I think I picked up on several of them. It seemed that the focus was fragmented, especially in wake of the other Goblin suddenly getting involved against them. What was probably an already tenuous hold on these other units was now grasping at strings, given the sudden drip in quality since. The very same units which had been previously ripping through our convoy previously now were struggling to manifest the same sort of fine control that let them terraform at will.
But it also meant that with every loss, their focus over the remaining grew finer and tighter. A paradox where the more we cut down, the sharper the remaining few became.
Of course, this was all just theory from a single field study from somebody who definitely wasn't an expert. But I think that it at least presented us with an avenue of attack that didn't involve endangering our hijacked vehicle. The clash between the Goblins in trying to hack one another was manifest in the cyberspace, showing as a snake snapping and biting at rolls of what looked like party streamers that attempted to ensnare it. Both were at a standstill against one another, equally matched.
Hence why they tried using their fists on one another in the real world, to...questionable effect.
Let's try tipping the scale just a little. "Veronica, I need processing power."
"Redirecting weapon systems into electronic warfare. Requesting support from supporting units."
"You heard her! All units, cover the commander!"
It took pressure off the HORUS mechs briefly, allowing them to try to surge forwards. But before they could get too close, I finalized my preparations and launched the tech attack onto the Goblin with glowing green optics. A manifestation of such appeared in the electronic warfare suite that had books shooting pages at the snake, whose head snapped so quickly to face my direction with bared fangs. Then they made to lunge-
Only for a giggle to echo through the speakers as finally, those colorful ribbons touched and tightened around the body of the serpent, freezing it in place. "Finally. Got. YOU!" the Goblin with what was undoubtedly a human inside exclaimed with no small amount of glee. "Snip-snip! You're pwned!"
V1P3R choked, then blew up into a burst of confetti that coated all of cyberspace briefly. But I could still make out how the string stretching up into outer space wavered and snapped, the connection forcibly terminated. Given how the Goblin with red eyes then dove in to directly rip at the still form, yanking out cables and chipware, they probably severed it for good as well.
The various other mechs froze, then collapsed fully with some sort of fuse blowing that probably blew out their insides. Ah, a failsafe to make sure that HORUS technology didn't end up in the hands of others? I guess that made sense in that they didn't want your average individual getting their hands on that sort of technology. But if the connection was cut, how then did they still triggered-
Wait, no. That way lies trying to assign reason and comprehension to their order of sorts. Which meant the best course was to just shrug and go 'normal in this universe, for whatever explicable reason.'
Right after that enemy Goblin was defeated, access to the prison vehicle was finally restored for the relieved operators within. At my command, they pulled over to the side so that we could check on their status, and that of the terrified prisoner within. Xing looked like they didn't know whether to sob in relief or cry in frustration at what had just occurred, the underworld agent having probably been blind to whatever the hell was going on. Truth be told, we were as well.
Which was why there was no small amount of suspicion and fingers on triggers from my side, glaring at the one remaining Goblin on the scene. Who was...was that a spray can?
Hang on, you can't graffiti the side of a government vehicle! I mean, admittedly, it probably wasn't going to be one for much longer, as we'd probably scrap this compromised unit after all this...but still! At least pay me if you're going to buy this vehicle off me, or something to that matter.
I suppose as well that leads into the big question of who they were, first and foremost. Alongside all the typical questions considering this rather sudden meeting. I approached, still in the Chomolungma for my safety if nothing else, and opened up the radio channel. "While I believe that you fought alongside us for a shared cause, you must understand that there is a lot of uncertainty regarding many things. Especially foreign mechs outside our employment," I diplomatically phrased, attempting the carrot. I sincerely wished that I didn't have to use a stick, in case they had a bigger one. "Might I begin with at least your name?"
Instead of a reply though, Veronica perked up when something else came through. "Sir, a text. It's a omninet link."
...Man, talk about super sketchy. And weird. And perfectly in line with what I suppose HORUS would do in lieu of an explanation. But still, precautions would be taken. "Do not open it, but show it to me." I'm admittedly assuming that since it didn't turn Veronica into a mess, the link itself wasn't a memetic issue.
She dutifully forward it to my screen and I blinked, actually recognizing that website. Just to be sure, because I was very aware of phishing in my prior life, I studied each and every letter to make sure it was the official label, then tepidly nodded. It all looked very right to me.
For additional security, I used the Chomolungma's electronic suite to open up a quarantine box, an act that did prompt a little tilt of the head from the Goblin. Then they shrugged and returned to spraying the HORUS symbol onto the vehicle, that colorful one that I recalled from the ones who helped out at Erica's hacking incident. So this was definitely them, beneath that mech.
I finally got a look at their face then when I opened up the link finally and beheld a...livestream. On a video sharing website. Featuring a goddamn virtual avatar humming in one corner of the stream as she unashamedly vandalized government property.
She perked up when I stared at the screen and gave a little wave, probably noting the uptick from when I connected. "Hello there, new chatter!" she exclaimed with a wink. "Welcome to the LUNATIC zone with me, 1un4! I hope you enjoy your stay here with all these fellow rabbits!"
...Stars above, she's a vtuber. I think I almost wished the link really had been a phishing link now, if only to save me from this dreadful headache I am now afflicted with.