Chapter 59 Collateral Damage

Sierra fired a quick blast from a tank particle rifle. The shot struck Raptor 01 square in the shoulder, forcing it to recoil slightly and screech.

“Keep moving! Don’t let it pin you down! Look out for its tail! If it hits you, it's all over!” Aria shouted.

Jacob maneuvered the mech backward, using the limited space to keep out of reach, but Raptor 01 was relentless. The mutant closed the distance and lashed out with its claws.

“Brace!” Sierra yelled as the claw raked across their mech’s side, sending sparks.

The impact jolted them in their seats, alarms blaring across their cockpit.

“Systems holding!” Sierra reported, trying to steady the mech’s balance.

“Good, then let’s hit back!”

He surged the mech forward, firing a charged volley from their particle rifle. The blasts struck Raptor 01 in rapid succession, forcing it back a few steps but doing little damage.

“It’s not enough!” Sierra shouted.

“We need more firepower!”

But there was no time to recalibrate. Raptor 01 ducked low, then lashed out with its tail again, striking their mech with the force of a battering ram. The Combelt IV staggered and toppled backward into a pile of rubble.

“Jacob, get us up! Now!” 

“We took a big hit! I’m trying!” 

Raptor 01 seized the opportunity, leaping toward the downed mech. Its claws slammed into the mech’s torso, pinning it down, and its tail coiled back like a scorpion, ready to deliver the killing blow.

“Move! Move!” Aria’s voice rang through their comms, but the tail was already descending, a lethal strike aimed straight for the cockpit.

Just as the tail plunged down, a blur of motion intercepted the attack. Aria’s Combelt IV barreled into the fray, its remaining arm raised to block the strike. The tail pierced straight through Aria’s mech, skewering it through the chest with a sickening crunch.

“Liana! Hale!” Jacob and Sierra shouted.

Aria ignored the blaring alarms and the red haze of warning lights filling her tactical suit HUD. She forced her mech’s remaining arm to clamp down on Raptor 01’s tail, locking it in a hydraulic vice grip.

“You’re not taking them!” Aria growled through gritted teeth.

Raptor 01 screeched in frustration, thrashing against the grip. Sparks flew as Aria’s mech held firm, the servos straining to their absolute limit.

“Jacob! Sierra! My systems are fried! Combelt IV done for! It won't hold it much longer! Get out of here, now!”

“No way! I will kill this thing! I will avenge my parents!” Jacob shouted, struggling with the controls to get their mech upright.

 “The bombs are armed! The mission is over! If you don’t move now, you just die a pointles death! Just go! I have a plan! Trust me!”

Sierra’s voice broke through. 

“She’s right, Jacob! We have to move! Now! The bomb will kill it! We can barely move, we can't take him on!”

Reluctantly, Jacob shifted their mech into reverse, firing a quick shot to cover their retreat.

“I’m not leaving you behind, Liana!” he called out, "Get out from the mech! We all can go!"

Her grip tightened as Raptor 01 yanked against her mech’s hold, preparing to rip free with sheer force. The Combelt IV groaned under the strain, sparks flying from its joints.

Aria’s voice cut through the comms, “I’m not in the tank mech! I’m exactly where I want to be!”

From the cockpit display, they could see Aria, already outside the mech, grappling toward Raptor 01.

“What the hell is she doing?!” Jacob yelled.

Sierra’s voice trembled, “She’s going to finish it herself...”

With the grappling hook locking her trajectory, Aria hurtled through the air toward Raptor 01’s scarred chest, a particle rifle gripped tightly in her remaining hand. As she slammed into the mutant’s torso, Raptor 01 screeched, its claws flailing to grab at her.

“You overgrown lizard! Remember our last fight?! Remember the little gift I left stuck in your heart?! That Vallen particle knife didn't let your wound close completely! The explosives are still there!”

Raptor 01 froze for a moment, its piercing yellow eyes widening in recognition. It let out a guttural roar, thrashing even harder, but Aria was already in position. She drove the particle rifle deep into the exposed wound on its chest, the barrel sliding into the flesh. Her suit AI Bastion crackled warnings in her ear, but she ignored them.

“Well, guess what?! The explosives are still live!” 

Her finger hovered over the trigger as she overcharged the rifle beyond its limits, the weapon glowing white-hot in her hands. Sparks rained down as the rifle began to destabilize.

  “See you in hell! You piece of Shi-”

She pulled the trigger.

The chain reaction was instantaneous. The overcharged rifle detonated, triggering the dormant explosives Aria had planted in Raptor 01 during their last fight. A deafening explosion tore through the cavern, a blinding burst of light illuminating the battleground.

Raptor 01’s chest erupted in a shower of blood and gore, its massive heart obliterated in the blast. The hulking creature let out one final, guttural cry before collapsing to the ground with an earth-shaking thud.

The shockwave threw Aria across the cavern. Her body crashed against the rubble, her suit alarms blaring warnings of critical injuries. She was unconscious, her arm severed at the shoulder, her body broken and bleeding.

“Liana!” Jacob screamed, abandoning all caution as he pushed their mech to its limit. The Combelt IV’s arm scooped up Aria’s limp body with delicate care.

“She’s alive, but barely!” Sierra shouted, scanning Aria through the mech’s bio-monitor systems. 

“We have to move, now!”

 Jacob turned the mech, maneuvering it as quickly as their damaged systems allowed, retreating toward the surface.

Behind them, Raptor 01’s lifeless body lay sprawled in the cavern, its reign of terror finally ended.

Meanwhile, back at HQ, the steel doors to the control room finally gave way with a grinding screech. Sparks flew as the breach team stepped aside, allowing Major Stark to step in. 

“Dyar! Do you have any idea how many rules, protocols, and regulations you’ve just shattered with this reckless stunt?”

Finally, Dyar turned, his fists clenched.

 “I don’t care! I’m not going to abandon them! I won’t—”

“Shut up, Dyar!” Stark’s voice thundered, silencing him.

 “Not another word! I’ll tell you exactly which rules you’ve violated. In fact—” He reached into his pocket and produced a small notebook, flipping through its pages with agonizing slowness.

 “Let’s start with Regulation 17.9: Unauthorized lockdown of a command station. Then there’s Protocol 3.14: Chain of command disruption. And let’s not forget Directive 11.2: Personal override of mission-critical decisions...”

As Stark continued his monotone recitation, Dyar opened his mouth to retort but caught himself. Something about Stark’s tone was off. Was he... stalling?

Minutes dragged by, Stark rattling off rule after rule like an overzealous bureaucrat.

One of Stark’s officers shifted uncomfortably, clearly impatient. After glancing nervously between Stark and Dyar, the officer finally spoke up.

 “Sir! With all due respect, this is hardly the time to lecture. We need to—”

“Silence!” Stark roared, slamming his notebook shut and fixing the man with a withering glare.

 “You dare interrupt me? Do you know what that means?” He jabbed a finger toward the officer, who now looked as if he wished he could disappear.

“Sir, I—”

“Now I’ll have to start over from the beginning!” Stark snapped, flipping the notebook open again.

 “Regulation 17.9...”

Dyar’s eyes widened in realization. Stark wasn’t reprimanding him—he was stalling to buy time. A small, unspoken truce passed between them as Dyar returned to the monitors.

Outside the control room, Stark’s team hesitated, unsure whether to intervene or not. One officer muttered, “What is happening right now?”

“Quiet,” another whispered. 

“Let the Major handle it.”

As Stark’s voice droned on, Dyar stole a glance at him, whispering under his breath, “Thanks, old man. You might have a heart after all.”