"Retreat to the hangars! Drag everyone who's still breathing..."
Arkam's voice broke through the haze. My blurred gaze swept the surroundings, but I couldn't make anything out clearly. My helmet was dented, and a web of cracks had spread across the entire visor, flashing with bright white light every now and then—blinding my eyes. The screams of people echoed in my ears, panicking and furious, a gruesome mixture I was used to hearing from our enemies, not our allies.
A machine gun rattled overhead, and I was thrown aside, my shoulder slamming into a steel wall, but the pain throughout my body—and especially in my head—left me no chance. I had no strength to get up or even move; I just wanted to close my eyes and sink into the saving darkness of oblivion.
"DROIDS!"
The explosion of a thermal detonator brought down the ceiling, and a portion of the lamps and wiring showered over me like raindrops drumming against my armor, triggering a new bout of migraine.
I tried to reach for the blaster on my belt, but instead, I felt pain shooting from my wrist to my elbow... and a sense of being pinned?!
Squinting, I turned my head toward my right arm and saw a massive assassin droid had collapsed on top of it, pinning and crushing my gauntlet armor. The humanoid robot looked gruesome, especially with its face shaped like a human skull and its grotesque, skeleton-like body structure.
The vile machine blinked its eyes mockingly and finally shut down, pinning my unfortunate limb beneath it.
Gunfire erupted from the side again.
Helldivers were shouting, and some woman was wailing, screaming in rhythm with the heavy thuds of something striking metal. Occasionally, through the shooting and cursing, the sounds of crushing metal and breaking bones broke through, followed by death rattles.
The chirping of Binary language. The grinding of mechanical limbs. The strained screech of combat armor trying with its last strength to hold back the onslaught of the ruthless machines.
Gruesome images flashed through my mind...
"Need to get up... Get a weapon..."
A new attempt revealed fresh pockets of pain in my body. It felt like something was stuck in my side, and another droid was lying across my legs... or was it a Helldiver in heavy armor? It didn't matter to me right now, because the little bastard was so heavy I was losing feeling in my foot.
"Get the people out! We'll hold them..." New shouts, only now they were much further away, though the fire from our signature blasters still rang overhead, so I didn't have to fear being abandoned under the pile of bodies. "...If they break through, they'll cause a massacre! Lock the hangars and collapse the passage!"
That was definitely Arkam. He was very close, but I simply didn't have the strength to shout his name...
Suddenly, I was jerked violently to the side. Someone grabbed my arm and tried to pull me out from under the rubble. Though, my savior's grip was such that...
Turning my head up, I met the gaze of a broken assassin droid through the breach in my helmet. The damn machine froze for a second, then released my arm and tried to bring its fist down on my long-suffering skull.
Just as the bastard swung, a cascade of laser beams pierced its head. Red flashes turned the already broken droid into a heap of molten wreckage.
For a few seconds, I enjoyed the blessed silence, hoping I might steal a few minutes of sleep, but then someone tapped gently on my helmet.
"I'm telling you, he's alive! I saw him twitch myself, and the droid tried to finish him off, even though it was trying to steal the body at first!" Someone was arguing fiercely right over my ear, and it didn't improve my mood. "Commander Sula! Commander Sula!"
The shouting hammered at my brain, and without realizing it, I blacked out.
"Sam! Sam! Ha-ha-ha! You're alive, you son of a bitch!" I was patted on the helmet again. This time the pain was much less, and the cloying chemical scent of bacta filling my nose clearly explained the reason for my improved well-being. "I'd already given up hope! You lucky damn bastard! Did you even think about what I'd tell your woman..."
Another explosion occurred nearby, and swaying, Arkam fell to the floor along with me, dropping my body. After tumbling a few meters, I hit my back against some debris and only had time to curse through my teeth before I blacked out again.
The next wake-up call was much worse. I was propped up against some barricade. A real light show was happening around me, and besides the familiar voices, screams, curses, and the chirping of droids, the roar of engines and the stomp of combat walkers with the rumble of heavy guns had joined the general noise...
And the screeching. The dying, multi-voiced screeching of insects that I would never forget.
My first impulse to stand ended in failure, and I merely slumped onto my side, though luckily I managed to put my hand out so it didn't hurt as much.
My helmet was still dented; it had clearly been removed but then put back in place... which meant our situation was dire. Through the slits in the shattered glass, I looked around and, before plunging back into oblivion, managed to see the battle scene in a spacious corridor once used for delivering shells and repair kits to the ship's guns. The wide room was littered with debris of all kinds, from pieces of the ship to the bodies of my subordinates and our enemies.
A massive breach in the wall offered a view of a magnificent mountain range in the middle of which we had landed, but the impression was ruined by dozens of fighters of various models, repeatedly unleashing new salvos of laser cannons upon the unfortunate ship.
Wounded soldiers and civilians lay around me, huddled together, watching the unfolding battle with fear or hatred, where Yam'rii brutes along with pirates and droids were slowly crushing the surviving Helldivers. Huge Mantis creatures tore soldiers to pieces, then feasted right in the middle of the battle, for which they often paid with their own lives.
"Stupid bastards..."
Another flash.
The rotary machine gun of a walker rumbles. The combat machine moves backward, covering our retreat. I am being carried on someone's shoulders, while surviving people flee in haste and panic around us. A passage looms in the distance, where soldiers have set up fortifications. Huge doors are slowly closing, giving everyone a chance to escape...
But then, from the side, smashing through the flimsy walls dented in battle, a clone of Zeta Magnus bursts out at us, immediately lunging at the walker and drawing its attention.
Deftly wielding his favorite halberd, the armored, insane monster delivers one blow after another, making wide swings and preventing us from moving further.
He doesn't care about collateral damage and easily kills anyone who gets under his feet—friend or foe.
The clone of the mad Arkanian scientist rushes forward, severing the limb with the machine gun and forcing the walker to retreat. As if playing, the mutant leaves small nicks on the armor, slowly closing in on the pilot.
He circles and laughs, while the Yam'rii and pirate scum begin to nip at our heels.
"HOLY LIBERTY!" Unexpectedly for everyone, one of the Helldivers, grabbing a bundle of detonators, leaped onto the mutant's leg. A bright flash of an explosion filled the corridor, consuming both of the giant's limbs. Falling onto his back, he tries to crawl away, now looking around with much more pathetic panic. But he is still dangerous... armed... and looking around, wanting to hide, to save himself... and then his gaze falls on us. Unarmed, wounded, and unable to fight back.
The mutant began to crawl toward us on his hands alone, tossing aside the soldiers and civilian volunteers who attacked him.
He growls. He rages. And he realizes this is his only chance to survive...
And the walker pilot realized the same thing. Overloading the battered machine, pushing the generator to full power, his exoskeleton emitted a powerful, long hum that hammered everyone's ears. Along with trails of smoke and sparks, the walker lunged forward, thrusting its single arm out.
The entire battle froze, watching this scene.
A step. A step... another one...
And then the multi-ton combat machine slams into the clone, smashing him through the wall and dragging him into the abyss.
"HELLDIVERS NEVER DIE!"
The ship's hull shuddered. Breaking through the side, the exoskeleton and the giant fell into a massive hole punched by enemy ships. Against the backdrop of fires and blaster flashes, they both plummeted down...
And some of us went with them.
The vessel tilted. Everyone was knocked off their feet, falling onto the hard, battle-torn metal. Screams erupted everywhere, and into the passage following the Arkanian mutant and his executioner, a dozen people flew, including my carrier... along with me.
My hand jerked in a single attempt. Grabbing a nearby ledge, I almost found hope... but as it turned out, to keep me from falling off my helper's back, we had been tied together.
My fingers strained to the limit. A cramp shot up my arm... but it was no use; I was met by freefall.
****
A heavy sigh escaped my chest. Waking up on my back, I saw the world around me much more clearly, as the cursed helmet had finally shattered, opening my field of vision. My face stung slightly from shards, and my second upper tooth was clearly chipped—but that was a small price to pay... Looking around, I saw only spreading fires, bright and greedy, wandering blindly through the ship in hopes of burning anything else. Smoke drifted upward toward the sky a hundred meters above my head...
"Kha-kha... Commander? You're alive after all..."
A weak, quiet voice came from the side. Turning, I saw a rather sad sight: the man who had carried me on his back was slowly dying, impaled on a large piece of rebar like a moth on a pin.
Half-lying on his back, he looked toward me with a smile of relief and a hint of fanaticism in his eyes.
"I knew... we all knew you wouldn't be killed that easily."
His face was covered in numerous wounds and abrasions, and blood flowed from his left eye, just as a gashed eyebrow soaked the entire left side of his face. Disheveled, with singed hair and covered in soot, the boy continued to look into my eyes, and only after a few seconds of his silence... did I realize he was dead.
"With a smile on his face... just like in some good stories." With difficulty pulling my legs under me, I stood up to my full height and, limping from one foot to the other, I reached the unfortunate soldier... no, not a soldier. Just a rookie, likely fresh out of training. "Rest in peace; you won't be forgotten, nor will the others."
Closing the boy's eyes, I tore the tag from his neck and, with a practiced gesture, tucked it into an armored pocket on my belt.
"And now... time to get out of here."
At the last word, fighters roared high in the sky, momentarily blocking the breach. A couple of explosions sounded in the distance, after which the ship shuddered again from an impact.
The Adjudicator was holding on with its last strength...
"How did we even survive?" Asking this question aloud to myself, I searched my own person and also rummaged through the kid's pockets, hoping to find something worthwhile... "A broken blaster and a knife... am I in a computer game?"
Tossing aside the piece of metal my weapon had become, I checked the edge of the knife, confirming the kid had been an excellent soldier.
"Sharp, perfect for slitting throats... or opening canned rations."
Snorting at my own words, I finally set off. I needed to get out of here, preferably before the ship's wreckage collapsed on my head.
"Though, after what I've been through... that's unlikely to kill me." The moment when the bridge of the Soul of Liberty was blasted with missiles flashed before my eyes. As soon as we entered the atmosphere, camouflaged Anti-Air Defense from the surface hammered the ship, generously bombing our underbelly. "Black Sun bastards... I didn't want to deal with you before, but you're crossing all lines... first that damn Follinian, now this..."
Limping and cursing, I made my way through the ruined ship, occasionally searching the mangled bodies of the crew or the attackers I encountered. Here and there, I found various broken blasters or more interesting toys... but apparently, the victors of these numerous battles had thoroughly searched the battlefield and taken all the best stuff.
"I'm sick of this... I need a weapon... and I have one excellent option." Remembering the gift from the Shorty, which was humbly stored in the drop pod bay, I made a sharp turn and marched much more briskly in the right direction.
Squeezing through doors that hadn't closed all the way, I tripped over the body of yet another droid, which jerked noticeably when I brushed it with my foot.
The cursed machine began to scuttle on the floor, clearly preparing to flip over and... what would happen next, I didn't even have to imagine, because as soon as the droid pressed its palms into the floor, a knife blade emerged from its temple, ending its mechanical life.
The vile creature wheezed for a few seconds, twitching and trying to regain function, but it was all in vain. Another strike, then another, and another.
The sparking metal skull hit the ground with a thud, emitting a final burst of sparks.
"Pah... damn thing..." Before I could finish, my hearing caught the stomp of many metallic legs running toward me. Binary language echoed through the ruined corridors.
"S-s-shit..."
Springing to my feet, I ran straight ahead, ignoring the rumble of footsteps from the nearest turn. Darting through an intersection, I barely dodged a droid that leaped at me, attempting to gut me with a retractable blade mid-flight.
Tumbling, the machine quickly stood up, then began to chase me with leaps, easily changing surfaces, including the ceiling. Clinging to the walls with sharp fingers, the little freak was quickly catching up... and I still had to watch the path to avoid tripping over piles of scattered junk and dead bodies.
Sliding under a sagging ceiling, I barely managed to jerk my head back as another blade flashed centimeters from my face.
With a clang, the blade embedded itself in the ceiling debris, while I had to urgently fend off three of the droid's limbs, which it alternated with enviable success—attacking me and trying to reach the vulnerable parts of my armor.
I was already starting to feel fatigue setting in when the first droid, which had been chasing me a second ago, crashed through the debris and collided with its comrade. Knocking its brother aside with its body, the pair of cursed machines rolled across the floor while I was already running further...
I was almost at my goal... only now the droids had figured out each other's species and were now chasing me together, not to mention the crowd whose footfalls I heard in the distance.
Sliding between a pair of fallen beams, I dropped to my knees and crawled inside the pod bay. Ruin reigned everywhere, and it seemed impossible to find what I needed amidst this mess and chaos, but I saw it immediately.
A huge pod container that the Shorty had been so insistently pushing on me for the last few weeks. Her extremely long, expensive, and tedious project—which turned out to be much more costly and problematic than the little Jawa herself had expected.
Considering the resource costs and man-hours, a damn corvette could have been hand-assembled in the same time...
A thud sounded behind me. Rhythmic pounding on the rubble through which my pursuers were making their way. This immediately snapped me out of my contemplation and made me move my ass.
To the left was the door control panel, and there was a chance to emergency-close it despite the piles of junk and debris.
"Well, or at least block it."
Frantically opening the panel and entering the commander's password, I watched in slow motion as steel arms appeared from the small passage. The droid's limbs darted in, then briskly pulled its bulk inside.
The damn machine unerringly determined where I was and immediately fixed its vile red eyes on me...
"Screw you!"
Slamming my fist against the panel, I activated the emergency closure, but the damn droid managed to react and threw itself inside.
One thing was good: its comrade ended up severed by the doors. The properly functioning mechanism—probably the only one on the entire ship—cut the droid in two, severing most of the torso from me and leaving only stumped wreckage on the floor.
"Damn," but there was no time to celebrate. Dodging the first blow, I spun under the first robot's arms and drove the knife into its drive section, hoping the cursed thing would slow down even a little. But my maneuver almost cost me my life when the twisting machine, sacrificing its own leg, struck me in the chest and head with its hands. "Damn you to hell..."
Flying back a few meters, I tumbled across the floor, stopping right next to the container I needed. Luck was definitely on my side, especially after everything that had happened.
Without taking my eyes off the droid hopping toward me on one leg, I pressed the container's opening panel.
"Voice confirmation required."
A synthetic voice fell like a bolt from the blue. Cursing the Shorty in every way possible, I propped myself up to be level with the microphone.
"Sam Altman. Commander of the Helldivers..."
"State voice password for identification," the virtual intelligence interrupted my attempt. Another cursed machine on my head.
"Uh... what password?"
"State voice password for identification."
"Commander?"
"Incorrect. Zero percent match." The droid was approaching me. I could practically feel the mockery in its red eyes.
"Uh, Tatooine?"
"Incorrect. Zero percent match." The killer was getting closer. Its blade flashed in the darkness of the hangar, casting a bright glint on the neighboring pods.
"Woe-suitor? Blockhead-Helldiver? Henpecked? I don't know, damn you, you stupid machine! Open the freaking door or I swear to God—I'll transplant your stupid brains into a smart toilet!"
"Correct. Over seventy percent match. Welcome, Commander Altman, I am glad to finally meet you." The door behind my back slid open, and I almost fell on my ass, but... some huge thing caught me like a kitten and set me on my feet. And all this time, the mechanized voice continued to speak. "I am the Automated Vanguard Intelligence Network Apparatus Model One, or AVINA for short."
"How lovely..."
"May I assist you?"
"That would be nice..." Without listening to what the crazed VI was babbling, I muttered the answer under my breath, preparing for the fight. The droid was closer now, and I couldn't take my eyes off it, because the creature leaped right at me. I was already about to take a combat stance when a huge mechanical arm swept out from behind my shoulder. "Holy mother..."
With a clang and a crunch, the giant limb crushed the droid without any problem; it looked like a child's toy between the fingers of an angry kid.
"Holy shit!"
Then I was carried upward. Grabbing onto those same metallic fingers, I even got a little spooked. I was lifted to a height of five or six meters, then turned to face the head of a massive combat robot that bore the features of the construction droid the Shorty had begged for months ago.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Commander Altman. My Creator told me much about you, and I could not wait for the moment of our meeting," the combat machine answered me in a sweet female voice, twice the size of a Helldivers walker.
***
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