The Red Stars (1)

Asbestos' domes shrunk as Cerviel shot into the air. I didn't go very far. It wasn't needed. Flying too high would've resulted in me getting struck by the pulse cannons. The red stars would arrive whether I flew toward them or not.

My eyes darted between several individual stars. More than one died upon meeting the white blast from the cannon. More would follow. "How many?"

"Scanning. Analysis indicates one hundred and sixty-five incoming targets."

"That many?" My heart skipped a beat. "How many can we expect the cannons to take out?"

"Applying historical models. Based on the current clustering, we expect the cannons to eliminate between one hundred and one hundred and thirty approaching attackers."

"That leaves a lot left."

"With Nova by your side, only half of them should be your problem."

"I guess that's something." I landed next to the furthest dome. Minimizing collateral damage was always a priority, especially on a resource-poor rock such as Asbestos. "How long until they're in range?"

"Twenty seconds."

Here we go... Five triangles lit up in my visor as Cerviel started to track the closest attackers. "Fire missiles." My neck vibrated as several streaks of light flew past my head. Each missile flew true and met its target in a fiery explosion. The threat counter dropped by four, but the triangles did not disappear. They simply moved to the next enemies.

Again!

More missiles rushed past my head. I bit my lip in annoyance when only two struck their target. The other three would forever travel through the void of space. I debated whether to fire another salvo - Cerviel only had fifteen left, but several white streaks to my right gave me my answer. Four explosions dotted the sky as the triangles shifted again.

"Nova and Valoel have joined combat," said Cerviel.

"Good. That should help."

"Incoming attack."

My body moved by itself to avoid the incoming blast. My skin itched as rubble rained against Cerviel's armor, but I paid that little mind. I undoubtedly would have been trying to make sense of everything had I been fighting alone, but Cerviel's sensors had no such limitations. They had analyzed the attack and executed the correct course of action. The implants relayed this at the speed of light. That's why I didn't find it strange that I'd already felt the hilt of Cerviel's sword in my hand when the red star slammed in front of me. The demonic presence within roared its displeasure at the failed attack. I didn't pay it much mind - I needed to attack, and I did. The haptic suit emulated some resistance as the sword sliced through the demon.

The counter decreased by one.

Cerviel stepped to the right when a light on the radar started to pulse. The demon's roar passed my ear with millimeters to spare. I didn't flinch. Only two decisions mattered when in the heat of battle. Attack or defend. I decided on the former, and a slice of my sword sent the demon's head tumbling to the floor.

But I didn't pause, for the enemy counter did not decrease. No. I twisted the sword's momentum into a downward thrust, piercing the demon's chest and nailing it to the ground. Yet the counter only decreased after a stomp of Cerviel's right foot.

"Three targets incoming," warned Command. "Ranged attackers." The first fireball sprayed gravel over Cerviel's foot, but the second struck her against the side. Fire washed over Cerviel's hip, and I winced at the pain. Still, I kept moving. Experience indicated where one fireball existed, more would likely follow.

"Where are they?" Boosting to the left sent three fireballs crashing harmlessly against the ground.

"Fifty meters out." Three triangles came into view when Cerviel turned her head.

"Fire missiles."

Two triangles disappeared in the ensuing explosions. The last one managed to dodge yet was still thrown a fair distance by the ensuing explosion. It would be easy to finish it off with a sword strike.

"Warning; missile stock low." The blinking counter indicated only ten missiles remained. "Incoming-" The impact nearly folded me in half before slamming Cerviel against the ground. Pain flashed throughout my chest as the haptic suit relayed the forces at play, and I heard Cerviel's sword clatter somewhere to the right.

"Die, human!" I heard metal shear as two strikes carved deep groves through Cerviel's chest plates.

"Damaged detected." The visor formed a holographic projection of Cerviel's armor. Everything appeared normal, except the chest plates were highlighted in a deep red. She didn't need to tell me. The pains throughout my chest were a good indicator.

"Die, die, die, die..."

C'mon! I aimed a jab at the yellow eyes, but the demon caught my hand without effort. My shoulder protested as the creature bent it out of the way while hammering at Cerviel's head.

"Damage increasing."

The force would have knocked me out of the pilot seat had my feet not been secured. "Activate booster!" I pressed the button. The booster immediately kicked in, and we soon skipped along the ground. I saw its crooked teeth as the demon roared in protest. A clenched fist tried to resume its pummeling, but a sudden bump sent us airborne.

While my brain was trying to process everything, Cerviel seized the opportunity. Without worrying about her sword, she was free to wrap both arms around the demon in a deathly embrace. The demon's eyes bulged at the force, but the counter did not decrease.

`Cerviel, counter boosters!" Several smaller boosters activated along her left side to spin us around. A kick of my legs adjusted our direction so our heads headed toward the ground. "Gauntlet!" I briefly felt the vibration over my arm before we slammed into the ground. Blood burst through the demon's teeth as it screamed in pain.

"Die!"

I responded by slamming the newly formed blade through its head.

"Die, die..." I don't know how the demon managed to form words with my blade through its mouth, but I was not mistaken. The counter had not decreased, which meant my work was not done. It took three further blows for the demon to stop protesting.

"Cerviel?" I blew out my breath. "How are we looking?"

"Two attackers incoming."

"Dammit," I looked over my shoulder. Two triangles were already heading toward me. "Where's my sword?"

"Five hundred and fifty meters."

I stepped off the dead demon before raising both hands in a defensive stance. I felt my heart thunder in my chest. Hand-to-hand was never my strong suit, but it would have to do.

"And the demons?"

"One hundred meters." I tensed my legs, ensuring I was ready to launch myself at a moment's notice before a demon's head exploded.

What? The demon had barely started dropping before a spray of blood burst through the other demon's chest. It fell to the ground with a screech before its head burst as well and the counter decreased.

"Hey, Vega!" The voice drew my attention to a silver mech standing on a small hill. One wielding a large rifle. "Seems like you've been having a hard time there. Need some help?"