Between the Buried and Me

[xFuckDollx]

This thread is now closed for thewhiteone

On October 17, 2118 the world we knew came to an end. I remember that morning even though I was only ten at the time. The clouds seemed to crowd against one another in the sky, fighting for space as they billowed and puffed and threatened to smother the city, the entire world. It didn't rain, not until later. After. But there was a mist that seemed to hang over everything. Between the clouds and the mist, the world seemed muted, quiet, as if it was waiting for something to happen. It didn't have to wait long.

At 10:42 am humanity had it's first official contact with an alien presence, though it would be more than a week before the government would actually acknowledge that the massive shimmering spheres that appeared over more than a dozen major bodies of water all over the globe were actually of extra-terrestrial origin. Before that admission, they were a half dozen other theories that ran rampant through the populace. Secret military weapon testing, terrorists, hoax, publicity stunt, natural phenomenon. But deep in our bones I think we all knew the moment we saw the first images flickering on the screens. They weren't of this earth, and that thought left the world in a hushed silence as we waited to find out what would happen. The fear was undeniable...and considering what happened next, it was well founded.

Six days after the initial appearance of the PODS, they opened and unleashed hell onto earth. Each of the mysterious spheres contained an alien life form, monsters like nothing we had ever seen or imagined. As tall as skyscrapers, some with claws, others with tentacles, multiple arms, scales, fur, wings. Simultaneously they emerged from their cocoons and began a march toward the nearest city. The scientists and diplomats tried communicating with them but the aliens continued their march without response. The military tried too late to stop them with air assaults and mech tanks, but it barely slowed them down.

V1TK was the first of the creatures to make landfall. Tokyo. Within seven hours, the city was a smoking husk of its former self. Tens of thousands dead beneath the assault from the hulking, fire breathing monster. It would have been worse if they hadn't evacuated when they did. San Francisco was next, destroyed by a winged beast with massive tentacles and a sonic attack that leveled buildings not unlike an earthquake. Paris, Hong Kong, New York, major cities all over the world followed suit. People were evacuated and soon humanity was reduced to frightened caravans of pilgrims struggling to find safe haven. We moved without knowing where to go, most of us in shock at how quickly our world had ended.

The assaults went on for nearly a month as the governments of the world struggled to provide an effective military response. There were victories, like the destruction of the scaled, four armed monster that had eventually made its way to Moscow. Unfortunately those victories were few and the loss of human life astronomical. And then it stopped. Just as they were unleashed upon our world in a single moment, the monsters ceased their attacks one day, simply coming to a stop like toys with dead batteries.

And the world held its collective breath, huddled around screens as feeds were broadcasts, images of the massive beasts standing amidst the rubble of our cities. Scientist were sent to determine what had happened, but they couldn't find answers. The military tried to destroy the unmoving creatures, but in most cases were as unsuccessful as they had been prior to the mysterious cessation. Then the shimmering PODS returned, forming around the lifeless creatures, then disappearing entirely and taking the visitors with them. Leaving us confused and afraid.

Eventually humanity began to return to the cities, to rebuild. We began to recover from the global destruction. It wasn't easy. It was going to take decades, and even then we knew nothing would ever be the same. We knew we were not alone in the universe any longer. And we weren't safe. And so we began to plan for their return. Even in their absence, the visitors became the central focus of our lives. Scientists focused on studying every scrap of data that had been collected, to look for weaknesses, to understand their origin. Governments planned for the possibility that they would return, pouring their budgets into military advancements that might provide a response to future attacks. The arts disappeared from our schools, replaced by military strategy, survival skills, and a renewed emphasis on physics,engineering, chemistry and biology. We convinced ourselves that we were doing the right thing. And we waited.

Eight years after their initial appearance, the PODS returned. But this time we were ready, or as ready as we could be. This time we fought back. It's been eight years and we've been fighting ever since...

"Commander Callahan, report to deck fourteen immediately. Commander Callahan report to deck fourteen immediately," the droning computerized voice chimed through my ear piece. My eyes fluttered open and I realized that I'd fallen asleep in a chair in the officer's lounge, my body slouched to the side, my legs pulled up beneath me. My black boots sat on the floor in front of the chair, looking as uncomfortable as they usually felt. I'd been completely exhausted after my last shift, forty eight straight hours of overseeing repairs, studying battle data, even taking a turn monitoring radar. When I'd finally agreed to take a break, I hadn't bothered to return to my quarters, instead opting for the convenience of the nearby lounge.

"Commander Callahan, report to deck fourteen immediately. Commander Callahan report to deck fo--" I reached up and tapped the button on the side of ear piece to acknowledge receipt of the message as I slid my legs down, absently smoothing down the black knee length skirt that I wore. As I stood up slowly, I tugged down on the silver and black jacket of my uniform. One glance through the windows that circled the otherwise empty lounge showed a flurry of activity, fresh faced cadets running in every direction, tablets clutched against their chests, teams of pilots pulling their gear on as they walked grimly toward the elevators that would take them to the upper decks, officers clustered in small groups, talking in urgent voices, and above it all a bright flashing red light that seemed to emanate from everywhere and nowhere at once. The base was on Red Alert.

A Red Alert meant that one of the creatures was attacking. For some reason the sirens and lights in the officer's lunge were deactivated. As I made my way toward the door, my bare feet padding softly on the carpeted floor, my boots in my hand, I realized that most likely someone had noticed me sleeping and decided to let me sleep by turning off the alarms to the room. Nice thought, but it didn't change anything. I had responsibilities, and if one of those things was attacking New Tokyo again, I needed to be prepared to meet it. Again. As many times as necessary.

With a sigh I stepped from the lounge and into the organized chaos that was battle preparations on the station, "Control, this is Rayne reporting. How long do I have?"

"Target is still six miles out, Commander," a voice answered, probably Cadet Deveraux. I thought I remembered seeing her at the communications desk before I'd left the control room hours before.

"Let General Amaro know that I'll be there in five minutes," I responded as I stepped into the transparent elevator tube and selected my destination. "I just need to change into my flight suit."

"Your going out yourself, Commander?" the cadet asked.

"Yes, tell them to have Prometheus ready," I answered as the transport tube whisked silently down to the officer's quarters, a soft chime signally that we had arrived mere seconds later. I stepped from the shaft and moved quickly down the hallway to the third door on the right. The sensor next to the door, activated by the microchip in the badge around my neck, opened the double door without any effort on my part, allowing me to move into the dimly lit room without breaking stride.

A circular ring of lights overhead began to flicker on in response to my entrance, bringing the small room to life. There wasn't much to see. A bed with a single white sheet against the wall, standard military issue. A desk with a chair reminiscent of what you would expect to see in a school, practical, unadorned, organized. There were no pictures on the wall, no touches of personality, nothing to indicate that anyone actually lived in the room. The only exception was a small table just to the right of the entrance, a table with a glass top that protected the items inside, and atop the case, a small rather pathetic looking cactus in a small clay pot. A reminder of my birthplace in the southwestern part of the United States.

I undressed quickly, leaving my uniform folded and stacked neatly at the foot of the bed, the boots on the floor, then stepped into the bathroom. I didn't have time for a bath or even a shower, but I needed something to wake me up, so I stepped into the small plexiglass rejuvenation chamber and selected the steam setting. As the chamber sealed itself, a series of jets bathed my naked body in hot steam, the walls of the small tube instantly fogging up. Thirty seconds later the soothing jets of steam closed and a rush of cool, dry air blasted up from the floor, instantly drying my skin and hair.

Emerging from the bathroom I moved to the large closet set into the bedroom wall and opened it up to reveal a wealth of various military uniforms, and a small collection of personal clothing. Hanging in the center of the closet was my flight suit, white and gray and more ominous than it should have been. I pulled the suit down and felt its weight in my hands. Letting the lower half drag on the floor, I turned and stepped over to the small display case against the wall. I stood there for a long moment, staring at the items inside the glass, staring at the reflection of my face and my naked breasts.

Tomei. Cat. Javier. Adam. Devlin. Matsui. Lorelei. Khadun. Josiah. Yamaka. Ferdinand. Sergei. So many dead friends, too many, I thought, my fingertips brushing lightly against the top of the glass.

Forcing myself from the small collection of souvenirs, my tribute to fallen friends, I began to slip into the flight suit. It was a body suit made of a nano-net technology that allowed the suit to read every movement and reflex of my body, every muscle, transmitting information from my body to the neuronet brain that controlled Prometheus' body. It allowed the mech to react to my body as faster than my own brain. It made me one with the giant robot battlesuit, making it possible for me to pit myself against the horrors that sought to wipe out mankind. And it scared the shit out of me sometimes.

As I tugged the suit over my shoulders and slipped my hands into the sleaves, I tossed my long white hair back. The suit was responsible for the color of my hair. One of the side effects that the scientists who developed the nano technology hadn't been able to foresee. Virtually every pilot who wore the suit for more than a couple of months ended up having their hair change color, some darker, some lighter, some to unnatural colors like green or purple. For me it was white. Guess it could have been worse. Some pilots had even had their eyes change color. So far mine hadn't. Sometimes though I wondered what else might be changing when I interacted with Prometheus. What things might be changing that I couldn't see so easily.

Zipping the front of the suit up, I pushed my concerns aside and made my way back out into the hallway. Back to the chaos. In a matter of minutes I would be on the flight deck, preparing to enter Prometheus again, to take him into battle. The thought made me shudder even as my legs moved faster.

 

[xFuckDollx]

Bumping.

 

[thewhiteone]

Entering my new quarters, the lights flickered on, revealing yet another small room, same as the one I just left. At least I don’t have to live in a barracks like the grunts. Not that there’s much use for standard infantry except as additional scouting forces. Not it this kind of war.

Gone were the days of armies of tanks, planes and troops. Now, it was titans clashing.

My uniforms and spare flight suit were already here, so it was just a matter of setting up my personal items. First things first, my casual clothes and undergarments. Once they were in their proper places, I reached into the bag and pulled out the holo of my family. It had been taken after we had arrived in Old Tokyo. We were with my mother’s cousin who lived there. It was taken the day before Arrival.

Next, a holo of myself and Athena, my very own Anti-Visitor Armor. My hair had already begun changing at that point; the teal was highlights in full vibrancy. None of the random white strands had showed yet, nor had my eyes changed yet.

As each item was placed, memories returned, some joyful, some sorrowful. Pealing out of the flight suit, I felt the suit disconnecting from me. It was something that always made me feel smaller, more vulnerable. While connected to it, I always felt like Athena had me enveloped in a reassuring hug. Setting the suit aside tenderly, I pulled out one of the uniforms and donned it. Outside of combat situations, or being on watch, we were supposed to be out of our flight suits, to avoid unnecessary contact with the nano-net. Checking myself in the mirror, I adjusted it slightly. I’d be meeting my commanding officer later in the…

Red Alert blared and lights flashed red.

Shit!

Tearing my uniform off, discarding pieces everywhere. Finally naked again, I re-don the flight suit. A soft sigh of contentment escapes my lips as the suit meshes with me once more.

Facing the small wooden cross above my bed, I bowed my head and quickly recited the Lord’s Prayer before dashing out the door.

Taping my ear piece to activate my mic, “Control, this is Lieutenant Hecht, AVA pilot just transferred from Nagano. I request Athena be prepped for launch.”

“Lieutenant, she’ll be ready in 10 minutes,” replied a male voice.

“10 minutes! I just got here an hour ago! She should be ready by the time I get there!” I growl as I move amongst the throng of moving bodies.

“The techs started a diagnostic and can’t terminate it without damaging the software,” the man replied.

“Shit,” I mutter, “Get me Commander Callahan.”

As I enter a transport tube, my com chimes, indicating that the Commander is on the line, “Commander, this is Lieutenant Hecht, your new squad member. The techs are running a diagnostic on Athena and can’t terminate it early. It will be 10 minutes before we’re ready for deployment.”

 

[xFuckDollx]

I could feel him even before I stepped out of the transport tube. Prometheus, Firebringer, the Crimson Shield, the Metal Messiah. One of only three remaining first generation AVA, he was a living legend. I started to remind myself that he was just a robot, a mech, a hunk of metal, not a person, not alive at all, but I knew better. I'd known him for too long. And he knew me. I could feel reacting to me as I drew closer to the flight deck, as if his consciousness were reaching out to me. The feeling sent a shudder down my spine as I stepped from the tube, my boots thudding heavily against the metal scaffolding that lined the exterior of the deck.

Much like the command levels below, the flight deck was furious with activity, mechanics, engineers, and pilots rushing in every direction, their faces covered with anxiety, orders being shouted, lights flashing. It all seemed like a blur in the corner of my eye, nothing but a distraction as I turned and started toward the hulking form of Prometheus. He was one of the largest AVA's ever created, the largest still in operation. He was a monster, built to fight monsters, to defeat monsters. And he knew it. I could feel his need even now. He was reaching out to me because he knew that one of the aliens was out there. Coming toward the base. And he wanted to meet it. He thirsted for it.

As I turned onto the scaffold that extended out in front of the AVA's chest I was met by two of the engineers who gave me a quick run down of the pre-flight check list and the results of the diagnostic tests they'd done minutes before. I barely slowed long enough to listen. I already knew that Prometheus was ready. I could feel it. The cock pit in the center of his chest gaped open, shadowed and silent, beckoning me inside.

With a deep breath and a slow sigh, I stepped across the short span to the cock pit and climbed in, settling into position and stilling my body. A moment later the headset lowered down over the back of my head and I felt two sensors clamp against my temples. I slid my hands into the sensor filled gloves at my sides and clamped my feet into place. With each step I was increasing the strength of my connection with the giant robot that surrounded me. I could feel his battle lust more acutely than before and wondered to myself at its source. Did he simply need to fight, to destroy, or was there something built into his programming that made him hate the alien creatures that he was pitted against. Now firmly entrenched in the belly of the beast, I signaled the flight controller to lift us to the surface.

A moment later Prometheus was lifted up through the roof of the base into the open air. The sun was setting as we cleared the launch pad and started the slow, thunderous march into the ocean to meet the approaching visitor. With only a few strides we left behind the muster of soldiers and tanks along the shoreline and found ourselves alone. After locking Prometheus onto the correct trajectory I reviewed the reports from the first responders. Two AVA were on patrol and were the first to have a visual on the alien. They had been ordered to take position two miles from the coast and only engage if the beast attempted to move toward New Tokyo. If the radar readings were to be trusted, the alien would reach the two mile barrier in the next two minutes. I knew I needed to hurry and gave Prometheus commands to double his speed even though it meant using valuable reserve energy.

"Commander, this is Lieutenant Hecht, your new squad member. The techs are running a diagnostic on Athena and can’t terminate it early. It will be 10 minutes before we’re ready for deployment," my com link chimed.

"Understood. I wish we could have a slightly different welcoming party for you, Lieutenant, but I'm afraid this will have to do," I responded. "Get here as soon as you can. Callahan out."

Resigned to the fact that my backup was more than ten minutes out, I turned my attention back to the task at hand. Using the magnified viewfinder I located the two AVA's that were preparing to engage the approaching visitor. Crenshaw and Lee. They were both good soldiers and good pilots, but neither of the AVA's they piloted had seen any significant combat yet. Scanning the horizon I quickly located the alien invader. It was big, and rolled through the choppy waters with speed. It was going to be on them in seconds.

Come on you bastard, move, I urged Prometheus. You want a fight, there it is, out there. Now go get it.

 

[thewhiteone]

“Yeah, I’d have liked a different welcoming party too,” I mutter to myself after the commander cuts the com, “Some strippers’d have been nice…or the opportunity to make an idiot of myself with a severe case of hero worship…though I’d have settled for this bastard showing up an hour sooner, or ten minutes later so Athena and I could already be joining the fight.”

On the upside, if we both survive the fight, I’ll have plenty of time for the second. Ideally with a good showing in this fight (assuming the enemy lasts long enough for that) so she at least knows I’m competent enough that she doesn’t need to wipe my nose and check to make sure I washed behind my ears.

Finally the shuttle begins to move, and I am hurling toward the hanger bay. Toward Athena. While I must wait, I bring up a holo of the situation on my arm comp(uter) and study the situation.

One V was inbound, and about to meet the two AVAs whom stood between it and New Tokyo. And the legendary Callahan & Prometheus were moving to join them. I knew nothing about the two AVAs or their pilots who were on patrol, but Callahan and Prometheus…everyone knew of them. One of the handful of the Old Guard pairs (as many in the military had taken to calling them) still standing together, and soon she and Athena would be standing beside them.

It was only a slightly intimidating mental image.

 

[xFuckDollx]

Already moving through the turbulent waters at top speed, I watched helplessly as the beast drew to a stop directly in front of the two AVA. What had appeared to be nothing so much as a scaled ball, stood and unfolded its limbs. It was indeed scaled on its back and head, but the rest of its body, a cross between an upright turtle and a wolverine, was covered in feathers. It was twice the height and size of the mechs in front of it and didn't look to be intimidated in the least as it craned its head forward and roared at them.

Crenshaw answered the alien's battle cry with a well placed missile that impacted at the top of its chest, exploding in a ball of fire and smoke. A moment later the smoke cleared and it was clear that the missile hadn't done any significant damage. The monster lashed out, swiping a massive claw toward Crenshaw's gold and blue AVA but the pilot managed to engage his thrusters in time to push himself out of the path of the attack, barely, I thought to myself.

Lee peppered the alien's arm and head with the massive gatling gun mounted on his right shoulder, but again the monster seemed unphased. The beast lurched forward and managed to slam a fist into the center of Lee's chest, sending his AVA plunging backward into the frigid ocean water. With his fall broken by the water, it wasn't likely that he had sustained any major damage, but even so it would be a few minutes until Lee could right himself, which meant Crenshaw was on his own for the moment.

The young pilot made the most of the distraction that Lee had provided, slashing the alien across the back and shoulder with the steel blade that extended from his right arm. I could see blood, but I also saw the weapon snap in two as it caught against one of the enormous scales on the monster's back. This time as the beast swiped at Crenshaw's AVA he was a half step to slow to avoid its claw which cut through the metal breast plate as if it were paper.

I felt a moment of panic, sure that the attack had cut directly into the cockpit and through Crenshaw, but a moment later I could see that the cockpit was still intact though sparks flickered in the center of the AVA's chest. The wounded pilot unleashed a series of missiles at the beast, trying to buy himself time to back away. His chances wouldn't have been good if not for the fact that Lee was back in the fight, impaling the alien's left arm with three well aimed harpoons attached to cables. The harpoons themselves hadn't done much damage to the creature, and the cables wouldn't hold for long, but it was enough to give Crenshaw time to retreat.

Faster, damn you! I cursed as Prometheus continued his deliberate march toward the conflict. Still a minute out, I watched as the two inexperienced AVA continued to try to halt the alien monster's advance. Each time they attacked the beasts seemed to simply shake it off before retaliating. Crenshaw and Lee were beginning to take heavy damage, and the more damage they took, the slower they began to move.

Hold on, boys, just fucking hold on! I cursed again. I'm not losing anyone today, do you hear me, not today.

 

[thewhiteone]

This is looking bad, I thought to myself as I tube arrived at the hanger.

The two pilots, Crenshaw and Lee, seemed to be doing little more than irritating it, while it was steadily taking them a part piece by piece.

Missiles to the chest seemed to have little effect, which wasn’t all that surprising considering the turtle like shell and the fact that he seemed to be using HE missiles instead of AP ones, or the new plasma warheads.

The ineffectiveness of Lee’s huge gatling on the arm and head was much more surprising. The limbs and head should be the beast’s weakest spots, so those rounds should have done something!

…and yet the metal blade which strikes the back of the shell and breaks does some actual damage?

Fucking Alien Genotypes!!!

As the doors open, I cannot help but notice the lack of the usual increased awareness of Athena’s presence. Damned fucking diagnostic!

Dashing and dodging, bobbing and weaving my way through people, vehicles and equipment in the hanger, I made my way toward my partner. Even in this strange hanger, the strange people, even with her in diagnostic mode, it is effortless for me to locate her.

There she stood, in all her shinning golden glory. She wasn’t the massive juggernaut that Prometheus was; in fact, she was the smallest AVA yet built. She was also the newest. Athena wasn’t forged to brawl or unleash hellish barrages of firepower… No Athena was for hit-and-runs as well as hacking foes apart in melee with mankind’s first ever energy blades.

Of course she also had her spear.

But first she had to see if these blasted techies had figured out a way to speed up their infernal diagnostic!

 

[xFuckDollx]

"Lee, Crenshaw! Disengage immediately and retreat back to base," I ordered through the crackling com-link as I approached, encased in the nearly seventy five tons of steel and hyper iron alloy known as Prometheus. As the two damaged AVA began to back away, the hulking beast continued to stalk toward them. Closing in with two powerful lunges, I extended a massive hand out and clamped it down on the creatures shoulder, pulling it back, forcing the alien monster to turn my direction.

A piercing scream issued from the visitor. A challenge perhaps as it realized that a new foe had emerged from the darkness. Whatever the eerie call was meant to convey, I silenced it by unleashing the twin flame throwers that were built into either wrist. Red and orange flames roared across the monster's front side and face and the scream that issued forth in response was less than triumphant.

The scalding bursts of fire had injured it, but I knew it wasn't going to be enough to stop it. My goal had simply been to catch it off guard and get it's attention long enough for the other two pilots to make their escape. Maybe, if I got lucky, I'd take out an eye too, leave it partially immobilized.

No such luck, I thought as Prometheus ducked just in time to avoid a lumbering swing of the creature's clawed arm. Our momentum took us around behind the monster's back and we immediately took advantage, reaching out and locking both metal hands onto a massive piece of bony shell that protected the alien's back. Transferring auxiliary power to the AVA's arms, I pulled back with one massive hand, the other hand pushing on the back of the creature's head. The thick layers of bone that made up it's shell didn't budge at first, but I continued to pull with all of the strength that Prometheus had until I felt it begin to give way. The horrible sound of flesh tearing as we began to rip the shell from the alien's back was quickly followed by the sound of the beast screaming again. Screaming in pain and terror. I'd heard that sound before.

As Prometheus and I endeavored to tear the protective shell completely from the monster's back, in order to expose what I hoped would be soft, unprotected flesh beneath I suddenly felt something tangle between the AVA's legs, knocking us off balance. A moment later, as we tumbled backwards into the ocean waves, I realized that the beast had a tail, one that had been submerged beneath the water until now.

As I struggled to regain my balance and right Prometheus, I heard the sound of another AVA nearby. Had Crenshaw or Lee disobeyed my order and returned to help, or was this Athena, the newest member of my squad? Either way, I hoped that we had been successful in exposing a weakness in the visitor's exterior armor that could be exploited by myself or the nearby AVA.

Damn it! Get up and get back in the fight! I urged the giant robot that surrounded me as we thrashed out of the water and found ourselves once again face to face with the injured and angered alien monster.

 

[thewhiteone]

I come up behind the techs, “What’s her status!” I demand.

The techs don’t even look up, “Working on a way to get it to jump to the end of the scan,” one of them replies. I restrain from tapping my foot impatiently, knowing full well that it would do no good. But damn it, the enemy was out there dismantling two AVAs, my new commander was moving to join them, while Athena and I just sat here and did nothing. The impotence was infuriating. “Just a sec…” one of the techs spoke up after what seemed like an eternity, though it was almost certainly less than 30 seconds “…almost there…aaaaand got it! Diagnostic ended!”

I feel Athena wake from her short slumber, she senses me near by in the nanosuit that binds us and extends a welcome. A quick dash and I’m on the lift and ascending to the entrance in her back. The hatch opens as I arrive, moments later I am inside her. As the shock harness attaches, I close my eyes, open my mind and Merge with Athena. A glorious sense of power, awareness, and completeness fill us. Our grip on our spear tightens.

We are ready.

The lift to the surface carries us up into the out side air, and we charge off, footsteps thundering at high speed. Time is of the essence, but the battle is in the water. We could fly there faster than we could run, but we must keep our engines in reserve for the flight over the water (since the water would slow us to a crawl) and the actual fight it self. Trees, roads and buildings fly past us…the coast at last! Out engines roar to life as we leap into the air.

As we approach, we study the updates of the battle underway. Our Commander has joined the battle, we watch with hunger as the beast’s shell gives a satisfying CRACK as it is ripped clear off the alien’s back, our Commander is tearing the beast apart with bare hands! That wound should be fatal from the shear amount of blood cascading down its back. Suddenly they fall backward, as if tripped; we are concerned, unsure of what happened. As the beast comes into our own visual range, we see no sign of what tripped the mighty Prometheus. Could be a tail, tentacle, or even several of them. It was unlikely that there was a second Visitor that hadn’t been detected, but that too was a possibility.

We bring our spear back as we fly towards the enemy’s exposed back, and hurl it forward with our mechanized might. The spear flies forward like a thunderbolt aimed straight for the creature’s exposed spine. A small thruster at the base of the spear ignites, increasing its speed further for the last brief moment of flight. The creature just starts to turn towards the sound of our engines when the spear strikes deep, stopping only at the shell on the beast's chest. Its movement had just been enough to make the spear only graze the spine, rather than severing it. Several organs ruptured as the spear plunged inward, and the beast convulsed from agony and nerve damage. Small pores opened up along the spear, and a flesh-eating acid exited from the small (relatively speaking) internal reservoir, adding to the beast’s list of problems.

Joy surged through us as our spear struck home. We had now joined the battle and were now only seconds away from the mortally wounded monster. Blades of red energy shot out from the emitters on our forearms as we closed to silence its shrieks of agony.

“Athena to Prometheus. Seven seconds to melee range.”