TBoB - Book 3 - Chapter 36 - Intervention

After doing 4-2 on friday, feeling inspired, so may be two TBoB today.

I sent the Kodiaks to blitz the missile launcher. I knew whatever Helmar had couldn’t be small, considering the volume of fire it had chucked around the last few hours, but even I was unprepared for the behemoth that was awaiting my bear’s arrival. It was some sort of superheavy, one that dwarfed the machine Bob had smashed earlier.

It had four massive tracks to distribute its weight, two enormous cannons in the turret, and on the back was a pair of boxy, quad missile launchers. That was in addition to the myriad of smaller machine gun and anti infantry weapons dotted around its hull.

Along with the super heavy there were a number of smaller armored and support vehicles. The thing was so mammoth that each of the missile launchers seemed to have its own dedicated reloading vehicle.

The supporting anti-air tanks opened up the instant the Kodiaks cleared the top of the surrounding buildings. I was concerned, for a moment, but the rounds pinged ineffectively off my IFVs. Helmar must have known who they were dealing with at this point, but it seemed like they just didn’t care anymore. They were like a cornered animal, biting at anything that got close. Well, this time they bit off more than they could chew.

“Spooky you’re in charge of the attack, try to avoid losing any Kodiaks in the landing,” I ordered. “Bandit, you’re in charge of identifying weak spots and blind spots for Spooky to take advantage of.”

Spooky shifted uncomfortably. “Even if I execute a flawless attack, we’re going to take casualties,” he said. “Even if we manage to avoid the tanks, every one of those support vehicles have autocannons strong enough to penetrate bear armor.”

“What about the moose?” I asked, turning back towards the command console of the marsupial. I could see several dozen people running around the streets now, pointing at my incoming forces.

“Probably not, but they’re both large, and slow enough to be targeted by that monster,” Bandit pointed out. “Their armor may be thick, but not thick enough to shrug off a shell from that thing.”

I stared at the display for a moment, chewing on my lip, “Nyx… how many points did I make during that incursion?” I asked.

“You made twenty four thousand points over the week. Most of that was during the first day,” Nyx replied from a random bear on the bridge. “When you spread your bears out in such a wide area, and have Spooky and Bandit perform most of the organization, you receive a significant penalty. Even when you’re networked with them all.”

“That’s more than enough,” I mumbled. “Is there a catalog that could help minimize the impact of that Mammoth tank’s guns?”

“You can’t afford anything that would completely nullify it, since you used all your tokens on the civil projects, but there are a couple which can lessen the impact,” Nyx replied.

“What about when combined with Class III armor?” I asked, turning towards Nyx’s avatar with a glint in my eye. 

“That would do it,” Nyx confirmed.

“Hey Boss, I could go deal with that tank for you. I didn’t have a problem with the other one,” Bob told me.

“And you couldn’t help but stick your head right into the barrel to prove a point,” I growled. “No more of that! I don’t care how strong you are, your job is to protect me, and smash what I point to. The last thing I want to do is put you through a repair cycle again,” I snapped at the big bear. “You’ll destroy the tank, but I want you to have some backup first.”

The big bear somehow managed to pout, but didn’t talk back.

“I’d like the shield to have an area of effect, even if it’s directional,” I specified, turning back to Nyx. “And if it’s not that expensive, get me the blueprint. We’ll integrate it into the Moose power pack in the future,” I said, pacing.

“I was already planning on doing that, anything larger than a personal shield would require an external power supply anyways,” Nyx replied. “Anything else?”

“Two Class III serums,” I replied with a small smile.

“Two?” Nyx repeated. “With the blueprints that would nearly bankrupt you, are you sure?” they asked.

“Yes, I was planning on doing it even before the incursion started. I realized that having a bunch of independent helpers running around is extremely helpful, and I feel bad for those guys that haven’t gotten the treatment yet,” I replied.

“Fine, but don’t whine to me if you run out of points later,” Nyx said with a sigh.

Purchased:

Kinetic Dampening Catalog - 100 points

Directed Kinetic Shield System - 250 points

Directed Kinetic Shield System Blueprint - 2500 points

Class III Modular Combat Robotics Upgrade x 2 - 20000 points

Points Remaining: 3783 points

I stared at the update that Nyx had sent me for a moment. “I thought you said I'd nearly be bankrupt,” I said blankly.

“Do you know what the average cost of your purchases has been since the caverns? Three thousand points isn’t that much,” Nyx countered.

While we were discussing, Heavy wandered over and grabbed one of the syringes that had landed at my feet and stabbed it into his arm. He twitched for a few seconds, just like the others had, then looked down at me. “That was very strange feeling,” he muttered.

“You okay?” I asked cautiously. 

“Better than ever, and ready to lead the charge,” Heavy declared, saluting proudly. “Just point me at your foe, and I shall crush them comrade!”

“Nyx…” 

“He’s fine, that’s just his personality,” Nyx replied before I could even ask.

I nodded cautiously then grabbed the last syringe. “Can you get that shield installed on him while I make a tough choice?” I asked Nyx as I turned towards my last two teammates. 

Deadbeat and Dusty stared at me blankly. They both had their purpose in combat, the sickly green Deadbeat and his contemporaries in the squads carried around medical supplies, and emergency bear patches, while the Desert camo clad Dust carried around the extra ammo for the squad. I stared at the pair for several seconds before making my choice.

“Sorry bud,” I said to Dusty as I stepped past him and injected Deadbeat, “but having actual medical advice on hand trumps combat expertise,” I explained. “I’ll get you as soon as I can.”

Unlike the other bears Deadbeat didn’t just twitch, he completely freaked out dropping to the floor and performing his best imitation of a seizure before laying still. “Nyx…” I started again.

“Still fine!” my AI assured me.

Sure enough, after several seconds Deadbeat picked himself up off the floor and looked around. “That was a strange experience,” Deadbeat said in a very feminine voice. “I’m glad it happened here, where the floors are still clean, instead of someplace unhygienic like the garage.” She shuddered.

“Deadbeat?” I asked, feeling a little more confused by the situation than I probably should have been.

“That’s right, Deadbeat M.D. at your services,” the bear replied politely. “Although if you ever need me to perform something better than emergency medical aid, I’ll need a clean place to work,” she reported.

“Right, well, that’s not really a priority right now, but I’ll see what I can do for you,” I replied.

As Deadbeat wandered over to converse with her peers, Spooky called out. “The bears are almost in position, if you have a plan, now is the time to implement it.”

“Right!” I twirled on the spot and pointed at Heavy, who was just making his way back towards me after getting the shield installed. “Heavy, I want you to provide a distraction, and provide cover for the bears to advance behind you. Do you think you can handle that?” 

“Yah, leave it to me,” the big polar bear replied, as he cracked his knuckles.

A part of me wondered just how he was capable of doing that, before my brain got back on track. “Bob! While Heavy is advancing you’re to flank Helmar’s lines and take that superheavy apart. No showing off, got it!”

Bob nodded, a vicious grin crossing his face. “I think I can handle that,” he said.

“Great. You two can take the Kodiaks at the back to your positions. Hop to it, everyone else is in place,” I snapped. I know the marsupial was built solidly, and was a Class II vehicle, but I could swear I could feel the floor vibrate as those two ran off.

“That was a lot of points to spend on fighting some corporate armor,” Nyx said as his avatar wandered up next to me.

“It’s not just about dealing with them,” I grumbled, “It’s about sending a message.” I stepped up to the console and stared at the superheavy as its loaders worked at rearming the missiles. “Apparently some people didn’t quite get it last time,” I said, “so now it’s time to show them what happens when I get serious.”