I remembered the gun hadn’t even made a noise when it fired. And the pulses of heat had shimmered in the air, leaving a long, hazy line that lasted only a moment. It wasn’t like in a movie. There were no bright-colored blasts one could easily track and dodge.
“If it’s plasma, why isn’t it called a plasma gun? And I do remember that. I remembered he could only fire it twice before it got so hot, he had to drop the gun to the ground.”
“Hopefully these are in better shape.”
My earpiece crackled. “The youths are complaining about thelatency in their controls. They have near-instantaneous visuals, but the mechs themselves have a half-second response time. We must utilize this to our advantage. I suggest quickly moving position after you fire.”
One of the black drones appeared, squeezing its way out of the warehouse. It quickly started jogging its way up the hill toward the two mechs. I heard the whoosh of a cannon firing from below on the train tracks, followed by a rumbling and some whooping. This was the other two mech drivers talking about something.
“Stay down,” I said as the black drone jogged up the hill, angling west. Skeet and Chode hadn’t yet noticed it.
“What are those idiots firing at?” Skeet asked.
“Queef says they’re just blowing up train cars,” came a second voice. This was Chode.
Skeet cursed, saying something about ammo. I had the impression that they were communicating using their personal communication system and out loud. Out loud was probably easier if they wanted to talk to someone next to them. I wasn’t sure. Either way, it was loud enough that we could hear them.
“What do we have here?” Skeet asked, finally noticing the black drone climbing its way up the hill. The egg body of his mech turned to examine the small robot. He raised his cannon arm and took a few steps toward it, but he didn’t yet fire.
Chode also took another whirring step onto the steep hill. The signs over them waved violently back and forth as they walked. “It’s another sentry dog,” Chode said. “I didn’t see those on the upgrade list. You sure there aren’t any other teams here? Thunder Thighs ain’t trying to sneak into our territory?”
“No, we can see all the players on our HUD,” Skeet said. He took yet another stride down the precipitous hill. Chode followed.
“You think the local combatants have finally arrived?” Chode asked. “The civvies we pasted earlier had guns, but nobody actually fired. The ones who fled north might’ve sent their troops back.”
“God, I hope so,” Skeet said. “People are talking shit on the feed.”
I clicked my finger onto my bracelet. “Steady,” I whispered. “When I say go, we all aim for Skeet’s leg. Aim for the back joint. Lulu, drop a canister right under Chode if you can.”
“I don’t know how to angle it,” she said over my earpiece, a very slight edge of panic to her voice.
“I am installing an aiming aid on your bracelet, but it requires you to fire at least three canisters before it is properly calibrated. You will receive a haptic buzz when angled properly. You must whisper out your target until I can fabricate a better system,” Roger said. “Try not to hit a tree branch when you fire.”
The black drone stopped on the hill, staring up at the two mechs.
Chode also raised his cannon.
“Wait,” Skeet said. He took another step forward. He kept his own cannon trained on the drone, which was now about twenty meters away. “Do you see that thing on its back? What is it? If those are missile tubes, they’re pretty small. Do you think it’s explosives?”
“It’s probably a distraction,” Chode said. “Let’s kill it.”
At that, the drone stood to its full height and did a little hop on the hill. It slid down about a meter, dust swirling around it.
“I am in fact a distraction,” the drone announced, his voice—Roger’s voice—amplified. “I am keeping you occupied while I smash Queef and Steamer with a train. Also, Chode, are you aware your father is having an extramarital affair with his coworker Lois Chen? I have found evidence of such on the net. He calls her ‘Mommy’ during their coitus.”
From below came a calamitous crunching noise and a small blast that I assumed were the two mechs on the tracks being rammed by a train.
“Targets three and four are down but still operational,” Roger said in my ear. “Attempting to finish them off right now.”
“Go!” Skeet shouted as he fired at the drone.
The drone jumped and rolled down the hill, dodging the blast from the gun.
The Skeet mech turned to run down the hill, roughly in my and Sam’s direction, heading for the tracks to see to his companions.
This is it,I thought.This is where everything changes.
“Go,” I shouted over the band as I popped above the concrete barrier. I put the gun against my shoulder, I aimed, and I screamed as I pulled the trigger.
