“Not yet Sir.”

“What the fuck do you mean NOT YET!?” I roared, flustered.

“I’m trying to push Ranton’s men forward Sir, that way…they’ll be sitting ducks for you,” Nova answered calmly.

I ground my teeth, feeling my metallic jaw resist the persistent gnaw I’m currently engaged at the moment. Nova was right, I didn’t know what cybernetics these men had, even if they had any at all.

If the Static Squeal had gone off, It probably wouldn’t have worked. I would’ve led not just the Doasians to their death, but also Eltessa. Fuck!

“What’s your plan, Nova?”

“I’m requesting battle tactics from Ranton hoping to analyse Ranton’s voice so that I can belay orders to his men.”

“What’s the holdup?”

“He’s just repeating ‘Hold the line’ and charging his way towards us.”

“Damn it!” I growled frustratedly. “Forget analysing his voice, use someone else’s voice to trick them into coming out of cover. It’ll be easier that way.”

“Understood.”

“Wait!” I snapped, hoping Nova hadn’t started our counterattack.

“Yes Sir?”

“I need more ammo.”

I turned around, sprinted back to the ranton’sScranton’sorpses, and snatched up another Assault Rifle and a few magazines.

Once I got myself back into position, I closed my eyes for a second, then fired a burst round. “Do it now!” I snapped. Four men pushed forward Assault Rifles waving and began charging towards the maintenance room the Warchief was hunkered down in.

I squeezed the trigger four times, dropping the four assailants in quick succession. I spun out of cover, Assault Rifle trained on the corner of the corridor and darted towards the Doasians in three seconds.

Another head popped out of the cover and fell immediately, after a squeeze from my trigger. I then fired at the edge of the corridor, suppressing any attempt, but was met with a bullet that shot past me, barely missing my ear.

“Nova, don’t forget the plan.”

“I Can’t forget it, Sir!” The A.I. beamed.

“Hold your fire,” I growled stumbling into the maintenance room. The Warchief furrowed his brows at me and bit his bottom lip “You could’ve told us your plan. You coming here was foolish now we’re all trapped!” The Warchief growled in frustration.

“You think I did all of that get trapped here?!” I snarled, feeling my lungs burn from within.

“WHATEVER!” I grunted, tossing the Assault Rifle at the Warchief.

“Now listen carefully. We have a short window. I’m going to stun these men, but it won’t be long. We have three seconds to exit the corridor before they lay waste to us…do you understand?”

“What?”

“JUST DO AS I SAY! ON THE COUNT OF THREE, RUN, RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN. I’LL COVER ALL OF YOU!”

The Warchief snarled and nodded, whilst his men did the same. I nodded in return and kept my eyes on Eltessa who didn’t nod but eyed me suspiciously. If my heart wasn’t thumping so heavily in my chest, I’d swear it was the gears in her mind churning, trying to understand what I was doing.

I pressed my back up against the doorway, keeping a sharp eye for any movement and began my count. “THREE…TWO…ONE!” I snapped, not worrying about the machinations spooling within Eltessa’s mind.

The four remaining Doasians darted past me followed by Eltessa in the middle and then the Warchief last. I fired down the corridor, ensuring my suppressive fire kept them Ranton’s man back. “Sir, Ranton’s men are looking to flank you from both sides. I must use the Blast Doors.”

“NOT YET!” I growled, feeling my stock beat into my shoulder as I squeezed the trigger. Once my clip went dry, I yanked my last grenade free and turned the crown. Once the third click sounded off. I held it in my hand for a half second, then rolled it across the ground and spun out the door running as fast as I could. It was suicide to back someone with a loaded weapon, but it was that or have the grenade blow up in my face.

A loud booming explosion followed after my second step leaving the maintenance room. I turned, looking through the corner of my eye ensuring that the bastards couldn’t finish me off, as I’d made it easy for them. My lips curled into a smile, seeing the devastation I’d left behind me.

“Sir, Your slethe levels are low. You need to take a shot of slethe if you want your plans to succeed.” Nova said, then pulsed the statistics of my cybernetics before me.

Stancer Cybernetic Eye V3.8 Synchronisation Ratio 75%

Egrinizer Cybernetic Arm (Prototype 8.39: Fencer Class) — Synchronisation Ratio 67%

Slethe Levels - 40%

40%? Not good, I mused bitterly.

I made a hard left, skidding as I dead, and ran right into the Warchief, who scowled and looked at me as though he was ready to pop my neck. “You sai—“

“Follow me! I’ll lead you to the children.” I snapped not giving him a chance to speak. I sidestepped the Warchief, reloading the Assault Rifle magazine, then fished into my bag for the slethe injection Stryme had given me.

The small cylinder wasn’t cold, as it was meant to preserve the nanites within it. I just have to hope that not all nanites overheated, I thought.

I jabbed the cylinder into my leg and let the cylinder roll out of my fingertips. It hit the ground with a thin ding, and a loud crunch echoed behind me.

The hair around my neck rose as I felt eyes try to stab me from behind. I ignored the suppressive aura of the Warchief and followed the white line that guided me towards Fellis’ laboratory. “Sir, Ranton’s men are gaining on you. I have to release the Blast Doors on them down.”

“No,” I huffed, “Trust me.”

“Understood Sir.”

The series of turns that Nova took us through, made my lungs feel as though they were being incinerated. The pace that we were running at, took us through a few miles in just a couple of minutes.

Sceleratus’ bunker was vast, something Mr Black wasn’t privy to. Or he left it for me to figure out. As annoyed as I was feeling my lungs continually strain from the tempo we’d kept running at.

The white line within my HUD finally said ten meters and a made a hard right. I turned left, and then a short right and reinforced door appeared in front of me. Finally, I grunted.

“Sir, the moment I try to gain access to the Fellis’ lab, Ranton will know our location and use the blast doors.”

“That’s fine. Just find a path for the Doasians to escape to ground level,”

“Understood Sir.”

I darted down the corridor and in front of the reinforced door. The door had steel rivets that made look as though it could survive a nuclear explosion, at close range…but we all know that things such as that were theoretical till a full-on blast melts the door.

“Warchief, have your men guard the top of the corridor. We need that cross point clear, to retreat incase they tried to flank us.” I grunted, sliding my Usin Cable into the console left of the door.

“Do as he said,” The Warchief grunted. Eltessa sidestepped the two Doasians and approached. “Are you sure you can get in? We don’t have much time.”

“I can get in, just make sure your trigger arm is ready,”

“It’s always ready.”

“I know,” I answered firmly.

The Warchief’s eyes never left my face but unlike his scowl. I could see the reservation on it this time. I could tell what was on his mind, but it was time for me to make good on my plan. “Warchief,” I said firmly, typing into the keypad, making myself seem as though I was hacking into the console whilst Nova did the work. “I have some bad news but I’m not sure if I should speak on it.”

Reservation left Warchief Black Rock’s face, instantly. His knitted brows and barred teeth made him look like a wolf wearing a man’s face, something I hadn’t realised earlier. “If you distract me with your anger, you’ll only slow me down. Calm yourself.” I said coyly, purposefully to frustrate him. His two remaining bodyguards stepped toward me, Eltessa wilted in the background and I continued my ‘work.’

“Warchief Black Rock,” I said firmly looking into his menacing eyes. ”The base’s reinforcements have arrived…I know you don’t trust me, but I’ve done what I said I could. I’ve brought you to your kids. If you follow my instructions you’ll be able to make your way out of here….but that’s if you can trust me.”

The Warchief’s eyes went cold, and steam began to waft from his lips as he stared at me with such venomous err. I know what it’s like being a rock in a hard place, I mused gingerly. I’m in the same place as my family.

A mechanical zoom in the sound of the reinforcement foot slashing open, resonated into the air, killing the silence that befell the corridor. I turned to the Warchief and stared at him coldly looking him dead in the eye. I pulled my Usin Cable from the console and licked my lips. “Tell me Warchief Black Rock, what are you gonna do?”