Hel PoV

  My stomach lurched as the Koala went into a freefall. I thought that would be the worst of it, but a second later I heard the maneuvering thrusters kick in, accelerating the pod further.

  I groaned, clutching the impromptu harness that Gyrm had given me to connect to the central support of the pod. All around me Evelyn’s bears just stood completely, half suspended by their own harnesses hanging from the roof.

  Closing my eyes, trying to suppress the fear that was slowly growing in me. “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea after all,” I groaned.

  Sixty seconds after the freefall began, a full thirty seconds longer than I was comfortable with, the pod struck the ground with bone shaking force. Even though the pod had light inertial dampening, my vision blurred and every bone in my body hurt at the impact.

  It didn’t phase the bears though. The instant the pod hit the street the sides of the pod exploded open and the bears poured out. Gritting my teeth, I staggered to my feet and followed. I wasn’t going to be shown up by a bunch of robots.

  My pod had crashed into a small white stone plaza just outside the front of the council building. In the middle of the plaza, just a couple feet away was a massive statue of five abstract figures gathered around a small stone replica of the city. Towering over it really.

  Apparently the council didn’t understand the meaning of the word subtle.

  Compared to the plaza, the council building wasn’t that impressive. A ten story grey stone and polished metal monolith with no windows and only a few doors. It looked more like a bunker than a government building, which might have been the point, considering half the council was taking cover inside.

  Sprinting across the square I slammed into the unadorned glass double doors, bursting inside. The dozen guards strategically positioned around the opulent lobby only had about half a second to realize what was happening before I flooded the entire place in cryogenic gas.

  It was over in seconds. There were no screams of pain, the most squad got out was a pained moan as their bodies froze solid.

  [Gyrm, which way?]

  Based upon the building’s schematics I suspect the control room is on the third floor. There are shelters on the second and fourth floors, and between them is an equally well fortified, but unlabeled room. The room is also nestled up to a central utility shaft, which appears to be heavily reinforced.

  [That’s great, but which way?]

  Before Gyrm could reply a fox burst past me. Unlike the other, unadorned models, this one had a camo cloak and oversized ears. Probably one of Evelyn’s elites.

  “Oi, lady. This is no time to be sitting around, we have a building to secure. Follow me!” It yelled, before disappearing into a side corridor, followed by a handful of other bots.

  Stairs are that way.

  [Thanks for the heads up,] I growled at my AI as I sprinted after the squad.

  By the time I caught up the fox had made it halfway up the first set of stairs. A couple of the smaller bears split off, but it didn’t hesitate for a moment, continuing upwards.

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  “The other bears will secure the council, but I’m sticking with you,” the fox shouted. “The control room is far too important!”

  “Is that what Evelyn told you to do? Babysit me?”

  “The boss lady ordered me to secure the building, but gave me free reign on how to carry out my orders. Nyx is the one that expressed how important it was to secure the control room,” the fox explained as it casually opened the third floor access, and held it open for me. “I’m Bandit, nice to meetcha.”

  “Hel, likewise,” I replied awkwardly as I stepped past. I started slowly, and carefully, making my way down the hallway, but after a couple feet Bandit sprinted past me again.

  “What are you doing?” I hissed. “You might run straight into an ambush!”

  “Only defenders on this floor are a two man patrol walking the walls, and two squads standing outside the objective!” the fox yelled back. “No need to be so cautious!”

  “How can you possibly know that?” I growled, speeding up to catch up with the hyper active bot.

  “My nose knows!”

  Even though the fox was booking it around the halls as fast as it could, it was hardly fast. It’s stubby little legs weren’t long enough to carry it too far. I considered passing it, and trying to find the control room myself, but the way it took every corner completely confidently made me hesitate.

  After a minute or so of frantic running, it skidded to a halt, right before an intersection. It put one oversized finger up to its mouth in a shushing motion, “Pair is right around the corner. Can’t let them alert the others,” it whispered.

  “There’s a full blown war happening outside, I expect they have some idea we’re coming,” I whispered back. “You sure it’s just two guards down that hallway?”

  The fox nodded, and before it could say anything further I charged forward. The sprayer on my right wrist was already spraying its absolute zero payload before I completely cleared the corner, catching the pair in a blast of gas. I don’t think they even realized I was there before they were frozen solid, locked into position mid step.

  “Well done mate, but we’re not done yet!” the little bot yelled as it bolted down the hallway.

  I reached out to stop it, as the gas hadn’t fully dissipated yet, but it ran right through. Frost formed on its clothes, and it slowed down, but it didn’t stop.

  “Crazy contraption,” I muttered as I jogged after it. I felt slightly uncomfortable as I crossed the fog, but thanks to my various enhancements over the years I was practically immune to the effects of the cold.

  After another minute, half of which I spent watching the fox slowly defrost, Bandit slid to a stop in front of a random door. It narrowed its eyes, head swinging back and forth.

  “They’re agitated,” Bandit muttered.

  “How can you possibly know that?” I whispered.

  “Movement patterns, conversations, thermal signatures… you know what? Here.”

  A second later I received a data feed which nearly overloaded my senses. Multiple spread spectrum visual sensor feeds, auditory analysis, olfactory analysis, and more. I couldn’t even identify some of the sensor feeds I was receiving. After a couple seconds the data feed was cut way back, leaving me with something that resembled a combination of xray and thermal.

  “They’re sweating too much, heart rates are elevated, and pacing. Nervous,” Bandit explained.

  “Right. Can you tell if any of them are in position to damage the equipment?”

  The bot hesitated for a second, then shook its head. “Don’t think so, but can’t be certain.”

  “You have a sharpshooter rifle, right?” I said, glancing at the weapon on the foxes back. “Can I trust you with an important job?”

  Bandit fished the oversized rifle off its back. “Anything, just name it!”

  “I’m going to neutralize everyone, but it won’t be instantaneous. From what I can tell from these thermal readings, it’s a big room. I need you to analyse the situation, and if it looks like anyone might be threatening the control system, take them out. Got it?”

  The fox nodded hesitantly. “Boss doesn’t like killing, but I know this is important. You can count on me.”

  “Right. Then on three, one, two…” I kicked the middle of the doors, and they shattered under the force of my samurai enhanced strength, showing the room in splintered wood.

  The instant there was a gap, I stepped through. The room had to be close to fifty feet square. The area was mostly empty, except for a series of massive support pillars around the perimeter, and some sort of control room in the back. Before the soldiers inside could react, I started flooding the place with gas.

  Walking forward, with my arms outstretched, I started with the nearest corners. The men in those areas didn’t even have a chance to react. As I slowly moved my arms forward, I caught the men half way up the room as they struggled to raise their weapons or find cover. Finally, as I started to bring my hands together, the men at the back of the room brought their weapons up. It looked for a moment like one might get a shot off, but before he could there was a shot from behind me. The man went down, a hole in his face where his left eye used to be.

  “You didn’t need to do that,” I said, as I finished spraying the room. “My suit is completely bulletproof.”

  The little fox shrugged uncomfortably. “Better safe than sorry though.”

  I patted it gently on the head for a moment. “Thanks anyways,” I whispered before turning back to the room and rushing towards the consoles. “Gyrm, is this it?”

  From what I can tell from these monitors, yes. This seems to be the nerve center of the city.

  “Then our first order of business is to sweep for boobytraps and secure the room. Once that’s done send a message to Evelyn and the others. We have it. The control system is in our hands.”

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