“I did keep running,” Miguel Mustache said. “I didn’t want to go to hell, either.”
“You missed out on cinnamon rolls,” Axel said.
“No, he didn’t,” Miguel 1 said. “I gave him one later.”
“And I gave it to Lulu,” Miguel Mustache said. “She said if I didn’t give it to her, she’d tell my grandma.”
I laughed. That was about right. Lulu loved Mrs.Gonzales’s cinnamon rolls.
“Appearing now,” Roger said.
We all went silent as the loudvroomfilled the fields. I pulled the night vision goggles back over my eyes. I immediately caught the movement of the flatbed vehicle.
The red-yellow glow of a rifle blast lit up the night as one of the RMI robots fired off into the darkness, presumably toward one of the pursuers we couldn’t yet see.
There was apop, and smoke started to rise from the wheeled platform. One of the honeybees had just fired something to disable the RMI vehicle and prevent it from getting closer to our base. The three RMI robots seemed to pause as if deciding what to do. After a good ten seconds of them just standing there completely frozen, they all moved at once, jumping from the disabled vehicle. The RMI soldiers did not start firing at the honeybees. Two started setting up a gun position just off the road. A third started jogging in our direction. We all tensed, but it angled toward the house, not the barn where we were hiding.
Roger’s voice crackled over the band. “It is likely the RMI units have real-time intelligence on your location, but I do not believe they will engage our units.”
“Tell that to Mr.Yanez,” I muttered.
“All of my intelligence indicates the RMI soldiers will be hesitant to directly engage with the local population, especially when enemy mechs are nearby. The death of Mr.Yanez was a self-defense measure and an anomaly. That said, do your best to avoid the RMI units. For the time being, remain hidden until I tell you to move. Do not reveal yourselves unless I give the go-ahead.”
We were here as backup for the honeybees, which would take the lead on the assault. We wanted to stop the RMI squad from discovering our location as long as possible. They were clearly trying to lead the mechs toward our base.
Not tonight,I thought, gripping the rifle tightly.
The second group—led by Lulu and Rosita—was already approaching the Yanez farm. Now that the fight had moved away from the fake RMI base, they would quickly move in and grab the recycler unit if it was still intact, along with any other supplies. They had to get there now because the Moderators would come in and blow up the entire area once it was clear the fighting was done. They wouldn’t do it if there were any active mechs still in the area. I hoped.
“What is that guy doing?” Miguel Mustache asked, indicating the lone RMI soldier moving toward the house. He moved out of sight, and a moment later the sound of shattering glass filled the night. The robot was breaking inside.
“Oh, man, Mr.Gonzales is going to be pissed,” Sam said.
“Damnit,” came Lulu’s voice over the band.
“What is it?” I asked.
“The fabricator-recycler combo is wrecked. There are a few guns and some unexploded canister explosives we can use, but most everything is trashed. Cindy is here. We found her hiding in the woods. We’re going to bring her in.”
“That is not advisable,” Roger said.
“I’m bringing her,” Lulu said. “Some chickens, too.”
“Holy crap, Cindy?” Sam whispered. “I can’t believe that thing is still alive.”
Cindy was a morbidly obese pig that lived on the Yanez farm. She was one of the circus animals, though I was pretty certain her special talent was just being really fat. The thing had lived on the farm for as long as I could remember, and she had to be pushing twenty years old. Years ago, she would come to the fence and greet us as we passed.
“Lulu, if you’re bringing chickens, make sure you only bring the magic ones,” Sam added.
Whooom!The woods past the fields suddenly went up with a massive explosion shaking the ground and lighting the night up like day. My night vision goggles beeped and turned themselves off, and I ripped them off my head as a wave of heat washed over me. All the windows in the Gonzales house shattered.
“That was the main armament of a Heavy,” Roger said as flaming pieces of trees rained all around us. “The Heavy unit has stopped approximately three hundred meters north and has taken up a raised position. Our rhino unit is moving to engage.”
Three mechs appeared, clanking through the trees. They were four-meter-tall humanlike robots, more like old-school mechs than anything we’d seen so far. These were Attenuators. They approached the flaming trees cautiously. The shell from the Heavy had likely blown the two RMI soldiers to pieces.
Two of the three mechs were covered with neon tubing that caused the trees around them to glow purple. The third was also painted purple, but it was heavily damaged. This third one had a giant flapping cape behind it, like it was a superhero.
The Thunder Thighs. According to Roger, this gamer squad was all a little older than Cannon Fodder and better organized. Their subscribers numbered in the millions.
