== 1.75 hours before Ground Zero ==

  Hazard carries the wet paper bag that is Val back to her mech suit just outside the barricade that it would not fit through. The suit cracks open with a pleasant little ‘ding’ and lights the inside with a cerulean glow. Hazard climbs up the first rung on the leg armor so that she can lay Val in the pilot’s seat. She takes the time to gingerly strap them in and even digs out her own well-worn leather jacket to cover them. “Gybbs, you can walk us out of here, right?”

  Affirmative.

  “Then lead on.”

  I will do my best to pilot with care.

  Hazard hops down and the mech's doors close with a hiss once fully sealed. The refitted loader then turns back towards the tunnel system they entered through. The light on its shoulder clicks on.

  Madam

  ‘Shut up’ Hazard growls across the mind-link. She’s already drawing her pistol up to aim. 6 shots hiss out of the barrel and 6 plants drop.

  Model 3s eliminated… +60 points

  “Like shooting cans off a fence.” Hazard smiles, twirling the pistol to eject the spent mag in a flourish. “Just like the VR westerns.”

  Quite. Though, might I take a closer look?

  “Sure?” It catches her off guard and she fumbles the new mag, ruining her cool-girl display. “Why?”

  The creature is much darker and bulkier at a glance. And normally the Antitehsis are adapted to the sunlight and high oxygen rich atmosphere. There is no sunlight down here, they are not following expected parameters.

  The mech lumbers forward to scan the pile of mangled plant fibers.

  Though Hazard’s pistol is purposefully quiet and low recoil, it’s not without its devastating effectiveness.

  Gybralton maneuvers the mech to shine the spotlight down on the model 3s. When he does, light catches on string like substances… and movement. These models are carrying communication worms. Model 17s create such variants to support others. The presence of so many Model 7s would also imply there’s more than just a few 17s in the area.

  “Then what do you think they were doing?” Hazard steps up beside the mech and puts a boot on one of the corpses. “And do we really have time to stand around gawking?”

  Data about our enemy is invaluable. The more we know about this hive, the better we can deal with its inhabitants.

  A low rumble passes beneath their feet without notice.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “Great. But you said we’ve got two hours. I am not going to sit here and sniff the flowers while Val is on life support.”

  Madam. I understand. But this Hive itself is unnatural. The facts of the matter are staggeringly inconsistent with what we know about the Antithesis. And I assure you, the Hospital in Aurora would take us only a few minutes by hover drone. Allow me to gather samples so that the Protectors can analyze this variant.

  The big woman hauls back and connects boot-to-Antithesis-face, hard. “Fine. I’ll grab a chunk and throw it in a bag.” Another rumble, louder now, shakes the corpses. Hazard reaches down at the same moment. “The fuck?”

  Seismic tremor. The shelf around this area has been stable since the collapse. But that’s not to say that-

  Another quake throws Hazard off balance. Both hands squish into Model 3 goo when she tries to brace her fall. “GYBBS!”

  Analyzing.

  A shimmer extends out to protect the mech and its on-foot pilot from falling rubble for a brief second.

  The magnitude was not enough to have been a shift in the plate. I fear this may have been localized.

  “Then start moving.” Hazard rips off a chunk of plant fibers and stuffs it into a pouch of the mech’s hardshell backpack. She slaps the thing’s thigh armor. “Go.”

  The two hurry down the tunnel towards civilization. Or at least a plot where they can blast themselves free. Hazard herself stalls at the medical tent. “Gybbs?” she calls and the mech slows to a stop.

  Hazard blinks. Then blinks again. She restarts her sensor suite for her eyes. There’s no signs of life on her HUD. “No. You said they had time.”

  Madam. WE may not have time. Look!

  She wheels around, weapon drawn up, looking for a target. In the distance she sees a mass of Model 13s. Each is carving and cutting at the walls to further collapse the tunnel she had cleared out earlier. “SON of a fucking Bitch!” She lets loose an entire mag into the writhing mass of bodies and tentacles. “Gybbs! Open Fire!”

  Affirmative.

  A hail of canon fire lights up the range. Shell after empty shell fly out of the chamber and force Hazard to swap sides to not become collateral. As she does, she holsters her pistol and retrieves an enormous rotary style weapon with 8 chambers and no barrel from the back of the machine. The behemoth is clearly designed as a side arm for the mech- not for a person. Hazard finds her target through AR and fires- The barrel jumps 3 feet into the air. But the blast at the end of the tunnel is worth it.

  Light cascades through the tunnel as fire whips into a frenzy. The high-caliber melter round turns the muck of wet and damp tunnel into a sauna.

  Amidst the commotion, the space overhead fills with a sickening flutter of movement.

  Model 13s eliminated… 300 points awarded

  Just as Gybralton announces the points, a completely different voice cuts in filled with worry. Above! M-Movement detected. Evasive action! Val’s AI squeals over the comm link.

  The mech swings up its free arm to block as a mass of shadows slaps against the hull. Another follows and makes contact before the shield can activate. Another three creatures swarm the shimmering barrier, encasing the entire thing in whipping razor and searing acid.

  Madam. If you would be so kind! I cannot retaliate while the shield is active.

  The two inside the barrier twist in a disturbing display. Tentacles search for purchase in divots and joints. The mech’s free arm swats at the creatures. It only manages to crush tentacles, not their cores.

  Hazard drops the heavy ordnance and shoots her hands to the many pockets distributed over her webbing. She pulls out two thick rings that she’s already slipping her hands through. With a snap of her wrists in mid motion, the rings fold out and reconfigure into mini-mech gauntlets. Both of them light up with energy when she clenches her fingers to make a fist. “Take this you hentai mother-fuckers!”

  Without so much as a running start, Hazard leaps clear to the top of the 2 meter tall mech and hammers the force-field with both fists. The concussion ripples out in a blast wave just before the lightning follows.