By David C. Daoust
Harper came in fast, she let loose with a series of missiles that fired in quick succession from the upper portion of her spider. Meanwhile she was full-on drilling pulsar fire into targets directly in front of her with her main guns… Their spider-drones seemed to be armed to the very teeth. It was true, there did not seem to be anything that got left out of the design.
For the most part Harper just used the main gun, which was pretty much the mainstay, considering it was a weapon that did not have any limitations as to the amount of ammo. It was in fact, ‘infinite rounds,’ as the inner components could route energy straight from its core to produce its destructive effect. Which was true for most of the spider-drones energy weapons. The missiles however, needed to be built at a base, and restocked when used up.
Harper was sparing with her missile cache up until now; Up until the enemy was trying to cut through the hull– to get at her kid sisters.
The series of missiles had fanned out from her spider as she thrust forward into the fray, the missiles plunged deep into the targeted spiders… After a moment, they exploded violently. Thus, ending those spider’s malicious attacks.
Harper was not letting up, there was just too many of them. While it was true, the enemy drones did not protect themselves– she was playing as though this could change at any moment. Because to be caught unaware– could cost her another machine… which could cost lives.
Ratchet had her flank; he was doing what he could to help pry the swarm up off the hull. She trusted that his presence would keep them from splicing her again.
Many of the attacking battle drones clung tight to the rover itself, as their energy canon, which was usually used primarily for mining, was instead being used to cut into the thick outer hull. The only protection between their deadly arsenal and Harper’s kid sisters.
“Well, I guess that explains where all the battle drones went to,” Dicey’s light voice came over the comm, Harper had to assume she had just arrived back in the hold, “We were clearing them out of the inner corridors… and then, all of a sudden, they backed out of the fight! ‘Couldn’t find a target for nothin!”
“Ferguson seems to think they managed to follow our signal back to our rover,” Ratchet explained.
“Yeah, he said something changed…” Grace informed that they were in the know.
“How did they manage that?” Dicey asked.
“That’s not important now girls,” Ferguson interrupted, Harper was surprised to hear him weigh in, he tended to stay silent. “We must keep them from succeeding,
“We got a whole swarm over here trying to drill into where you guys are with a plasma beam…” Dicey described what she was seeing.
“We were a little busy trying to stop the ones from reaching you,” Harper explained.
“And I am holding them at the rover’s cargo hold,” Ferguson offered up his own situation.
“Okay, me and Grace can handle this side… as long as you manage to keep them from reaching us…” Dicey volunteered a plan, “We can keep them from reaching you.”
“I kind of like the symmetry of it…” Grace added in, in agreement, then offered up some advise. “Try to target those beam-weapons if you can, they become more and more unstable as they do their thing…”
“Are we really going to be able to smash all these drones?” Ratchet asked.
Harper could not figure out what choice they could possibly have.
“Shouldn’t we try to figure out the bigger picture?” Ratchet posed.
“The bigger what?” Harper felt like his voice was just needling at her nerves. “-Deal with one problem at a time!”
“It’s the same problem! We cannot just ignore the fact that there is a greater plan here,” Ratchet insisted. “A greater intellect…”
“You mean the dragon?” Grace fed into the speculation.
“Exactly, what does the dragon want?” Ratchet, encouraged by Grace’s question, pressed his case, “We may be better off taking the fight to him!”
“Not while we have a swarm drilling into our home base!” Harper’s eyes almost rolled out of her head as she insisted, as she had been insisting since the jerk started talking, “We’re under siege, here. One problem at a time!”
“I still say it’s the same problem,” Ratchet pressed.
All of which was an argument that was suddenly moot, as the tight wing of starfighters swooped in from outside, plunged through the cargo hold of the Dirty Damsel… they were all silenced.
Harper was startled, the enemy Battle Drones finally reacted to something!
The fiends dropped from their current stratagem, and dispersed throughout the hold… leaving nothing but Harper, and her small group of defenders, to take the brunt of the attack.
Most of which were ‘bulls-eyed’ in the first barrage of missile fire…
Harper spun just out of the missiles path, swooping back in the direction she came in—stray missile exploding midair, she was forced forward by the blast, and spun out of control. Just barely regained it as she watched Ratchet’s drone get hit dead on, and explode!
The crew of the Dirty Damsel were fighting back. Back against the Battle Drones, without any notion that the Rover’s defenders were even there!
Harper grimaced; she was panicking, the only drones that had been destroyed in that first strike were their own… she flew like she’d never flown before! Full on turbo mode as a starfighter seemed to zero in on her location, red lights began flashing as she spun about.
Her spider was smaller than the fighter, maybe quicker, and while the cargo hold was vast, it was suddenly ‘close quarters’ at the speeds she was now moving in.
The starfighter was restrained in ways Harper clearly wasn’t. She managed to turn the tables, found herself right on its tail, a clear target on its back—but she could not take the shot. There was a human within, and they were only trying to defend themselves… trying to survive.
Harper heard Ratchet explain both her sisters were knocked out of the battle. Ferguson had no good news to report… and she could feel Ratchet waiting expectantly for what was going on with her.
Red warning lights flashed again as a second fighter had her in her sights, Harper had no good call. She launched forward, and spun into an evasive role—she shot through a swarm of Battle Drones, two of which took missiles meant for her, they were regrouping. The enemy were flying in formation! Taking the fight back to the starfighters… at least they were off the rover. Hopefully for good.
Harper was fleeing the hold completely, full on retreat, trying to save her spider at the very least…
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