Lords of the Backstage
"... experts agree that the surprising news will send
shock waves throughout the military complex. This alliance will
undoubtly force Mitsubishi Industries to restructure their arms
division sooner than expected, as the loss..."
-----
The four figures cautiously made their way through the
underground maze. Flickering yellow lights illuminated the damp
passageways, ethereal neon ghosts flashing across rusty metallic
walls.
"At whose approach, ghosts, wandering here and there, troop
home to churchyards..." she thought.
"Nene, talk to me."
"There's an abandoned power chamber twenty metres ahead.
One more corridor afterwards... that's it. We're close, Sylia."
"Security? Surveillance?"
"EP shows nothing. At least the map seems to be correct."
A small yelp suddenly came through the intercom.
"Shit, sorry about that," a hoarse voice hissed.
"Priss, you OK?"
"Heh, the ribs will heal. Can't say the same about the pieces
of scrap I left behind..."
Sylia said nothing. She knew all had been her fault. She had to
get them all out alive. That much she owed them. After that she'd
eviscerate Fargo and force-feed him his own bowels. The
double-crossing motherfucker would receive his commission, all
right.
They reached the entrance of the large chamber. Sylia took a deep
breath. Very carefully, she slowly peeked inside.
Empty.
"Nene...?"
"It's clean."
Sylia end Priss entered the room, closely followed by Linna and
Nene. The women advanced through the enormous metallic cave, an
abandoned underground hangar which once housed a small nuclear
reactor, now an empty cathedral of metal and rust.
The exit loomed ahead, and almost unconsciously they began to
increase their pace.
-----
"... of the buy out, may take months yet. However, analysts
agree that it is very likely that prototype design has begun, and
some even claim that first-stage testing is already under way..."
-----
"Nene, what's wrong?" asked Linna.
The redhead had stopped. Four small figures now stood in the
middle of the chamber.
"It's impossible," came a whisper.
"Nene?"
"Oh God, Sylia, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." Nene was almost
whimpering.
"Nene! What is going on?!" Sylia hissed.
"I relied on EM and thermal scans, Sylia... sonar
readings... oh Sylia, it's all my fault..."
Within her suit Sylia turned on the small echo sounder which sent
a 900kHz pulse through the tiny transducer in her helmet.
She gasped.
A dozen BU-12K boomers surrounded them, immobile, weapons armed,
full combat mode engaged. They stood silently, waiting.
All four women stood frozen, their fingers tightening around the
triggers within their suits, bated breaths scarcely making a
sound. Time seemed to have stopped. Neither human nor mecha made
a move.
Small beads of sweat began to trickle down Sylia's forehead.
Linna's eyes quickly darted from side to side, tightening her
lips until they turned white. In spite of her efforts, Nene's
chin began to tremble. And Priss...
Priss grinned.
"It has been a pleasure, ladies."
She slowly lifted her arm... and fired.
-----
"'... both companies are known for their technical excellence
and leadership qualities. There is no doubt in my mind that all
parts will benefit from the deal,' stated ex-chairman Shirow, who
has recently decided to retire. Whether his resignation was
voluntary or not is still subject of much speculation. Given his
track record, it is highly unlikely that ..."
-----
A bullet pierced Sylia's chest plate, and her right breast
violently exploded. Three slugs suddenly smashed into her left
side, while another lodged itself inside her back, shattering her
right shoulderblade. Sylia screamed, a painful howl of fury as
fountain-like gushes of blood poured from her wounds, her once
shiny white suit now almost crimson red. She continued to fire
wildly, spinning in the air. Two more bullets hit her. One
broke two of her vertebrae and ripped into her left lung, while
the other almost severed her head as it tore through her
neck. Her agonizing scream came to an abrupt end as blood poured
out of her mouth and nostrils, flooding what was left of her
windpipe. In a last desperate maneuver she threw herself against
the boomer closest to her, her blade fully extended.
Priss was also screaming, but her cries were drowned by the
almost continuous gunfire erupting from her arm-mounted
machine gun, and the railgun in her left hand. Like a cornered
animal she furiously lashed out, until she suddenly felt a
powerful tug on her right shoulder and the barrage of bullets
ceased. Priss looked at her arm.
It wasn't there.
A shock wave of pain suddenly exploded in Priss' mind as a geyser
of blood erupted from the wound where her severed limb used to
be. A bullet crashed through her visor and ricocheted into her
cheek, smashing bone and teeth, destroying half her face.
Semi-blinded, she pointed the railgun at the boomer in front of
her, and somehow managed to fire two precise shots into its neck.
The mecha staggered backwards, black oil spurting from the
injured junction. With her electro-acoustic systems down Priss
was no longer able to see the boomers. And yet, in spite of the
intolerable pain and utter agony, she could sense something
quickly approaching from her left side. She started to turn,
howling in rage and despair, remaining teeth covered with blood,
her legs buckling, vision blurring, fading to red, swinging her
only arm, knuckle bomber fully armed.
Nene was so concentrated in staying alive she didn't even realize
how terrified she actually was. Her ECMs were not working
properly due to the spectral attenuation filters which covered
the walls of the chamber. Her sensors indicated a boomer charging
towards her, directly in front from where she stood. She closed
her eyes and pointed her arms at it, simultaneously pressing
three of the triggers within her armour. She peeked only to see
the mecha fall heavily on the floor, enveloped in flames. Nene's
eyes widened in terror when she saw Priss a few metres ahead,
mutilated, desperately fighting for her life. She froze, not
realizing the boomer she had just downed was still moving. The
mecha painfully tried to lift its right arm, pointing it towards
the redhead. From the corner of her eye Nene sensed the robot's
motion. It was too late.
The barrage of bullets sprayed her legs. Chunks of metal and
flesh flew apart as her shins began to disintegrate. Both her
kneecaps exploded, and Nene fell back, blinded by pain,
terrorized, screaming.
The boomer's assault paused momentarily as the mechanisms within
its arm automatically replaced the empty magazine. Almost
instinctively, Nene aimed her arm-mounted laser towards the
mecha's head, just as the robot targeted its machine gun towards
her face.
Unlike her comrades, Linna never uttered a sound. Her face was a
mask of intense concentration as she maneuvered her way through
the pandemonium, firing precisely towards the mechanical beasts,
lashing her monostreamers in all directions, whipping through the
air, like a dance.
She performed a somersault, decapitating a boomer in the process,
and landing in the middle of two other. She extended her arms,
each one pointing towards a head. She pressed the triggers in her
suit's hands.
One fired. The other didn't.
She suddenly felt her side rip apart, the bullets tearing her
flesh, rupturing her insides.
In one swift move she jerked her head. The incandescent filament
cut into the boomer's forehead. Its brains sizzled and
melted. The mecha staggered backwards. Linna furiously pressed
on, as her foot smashed against the boomer's chest. She felt a
something inside her stomach burst. She continued her attack,
mauling the mecha with a barrage of punches. Blood began to pour
out of her mouth. Sparks flew with every blow she connected. She
closed her eyes and screamed.
Suddenly, she stopped.
Silence.
Everything was still, nothing moved.
Linna fell to her knees.
She looked around her, hurt, dazed. Inert, smoking bodies
surrounded her, draining oil and hydraulic fluid.
Others bled.
Linna was very pale. Her lips trembled, her body was shivering.
She heard a weak sob behind her. She turned around.
Nene. Lying on the ground. Whimpering. Crying.
Linna crawled towards her, leaving a trail of smeared blood
behind her. She desperately tried to fight the pain which
consumed her, flooding her eyes with tears.
"Nene"
She crept next to her friend.
"Nene"
She looked into the girl's terrified eyes.
"Linna, oh, Linna I can't move, it... hurts so much, Linna,
make it stop please," the little redhead cried, squirming on the
ground, sobbing.
"Shhhhh," Linna whispered, kneeling besides her, "I'm here,
Nene, I'm here."
"It hurts, Linna, I'm so scared, I don't want to die, please,
please don't let me die, Linna, please don't let me die."
Linna looked down Nene's body, her destroyed legs bleeding
profusely. It was incredible that she was conscious at all, but
she was quickly loosing blood, her breath becoming laboured,
almost a wheeze. She put the girl's head on her lap. Linna winced
in pain, but didn't make a sound. She could feel her own blood
snaking down her hip and thighs. She had trouble focusing her
vision, waves of nausea making her dizzy. She looked into Nene's
eyes and weakly smiled.
"I'm here, Nene."
Linna clung to life, fighting death. She would not leave Nene
alone.
The redhead was now very pale. She kept crying, her delicate lips
trembling, her large eyes filled with fear.
"I don't want to die, Linna," she whispered.
Linna held her close for what seemed a long time, tightly closing
her eyes. She felt her arms go numb, the taste of blood and bile
creeping from the back of her throat. Linna suddenly felt very
cold.
Consciousness began to slip away.
Linna looked at Nene for the last time. She had gone into shock.
A few minutes later, she stopped breathing.
Linna wept.
She cried until darkness overtook her, and she finally ceased to
exist.
-----
"...name?' to which chairman Quincy simply responded 'the
Genom-Kyo-Re research division'.
For channel 99, this has been Lisa Vanette. Good night."