Cerebus
- Turn 2
“Get the lift open while I dance with my phans,” chuckles Screwball, a wild-look in his eyes as he looks across the ranks of advancing meks. “Heey, hombre, punch-a-the keys, hey?" suggests Mex-Bot to Cerebus, on the grounds that he just might have the chips to deal with a puzzle situation. Cerebus throws a look back at the enemy and declares to the others, “We seem to have over stayed our welcome!” Quickly he darts over to the entry pad, dragging a tool trolley with him to provide himself with some cover. As an energy bolt flashes against the side of the trolley, he activates his Distortion chip.
“Cover your optics!” shouts Screwball as he holds out his hands and activates his Flare chip which sends forth a brilliant flash of light that for an instant bathes the entire chamber in whiteness. As The Noose starts to unclip his Smoke Grenade from his waist, Screwball now activates his Energy Bolt chip and shudders as tremendous energy rushes through his right arm that he has pointed straight at the nearest of the shadowmeks. The glowing blue missile bursts forth from his fingers and streaks into the black mek, exploding in its chest. The mek is flung backwards off its feet and lands with smoke and sparks spurting from gaping hole.
The activation button of the Smoke Grande pressed in, The Noose tosses it before the front rank of the enemy. The device explodes in a billowing cloud of greenish-grey smoke and as The Noose pulls forth his Lightning Blade, Slammer nods and draws his Sinister Gun with the words, “Let’s get it on! It’s Slammer Time!”
Energy bolts fire wildly out of the expanding cloud as Slammer and The Noose charge forwards. His blade crackling with energy, The Noose darts this way and that. Twice bolts look certain to hit him but he moves his blade with lightning reactions and sparks fly as he deflects the bolts with it. A third does manage to catch him in the left side as some of the shadowmeks start to march from the fog. The offending mek does not however manage a second shot for spinning his sword above his head, The Noose suddenly goes into a slide and delivers a disemboweling blow, his weapon ripping through cables, supply lines and servos. The mek keels over sparking and quickly The Noose reaches down and retrieves the enemy’s Blitz Rifle.
Slammer spots more weapons and then their carriers coming forth from the cloud, their attention turned towards The Noose. Raising his strange pistol, he takes aim and pulls the trigger. The recoil causes him to stagger back a step as from the wide muzzle of the weapon comes a cone of devastating energy that floods over five of the enemy. Two of the shadowmeks drop instantly, their optics burnt out and smoke streaming from resulting orifices. The other three stagger back, flames issuing from one of them whose front upper torso panel has fallen away.
Slammer gabs The Noose and indicates that they should retreat back to the others as more of the enemy now stride clear of the smoke cloud.
“Ai laike two keel theese fuls ho wanta keel de Mex an getta rewar. Ees ded bunnies!”
Mex-Bot smiles glitteringly, then pulls down the anti-glare visor over his mouth so that it now looks more like a bandana pulled up to hide a gleaming gold tooth. Kicking in the Sure-Shot chip, he watches from where he has moved behind a burning booth. Spotting the weapon of one of the shadowmek’s aim straight for the retreating Slammer, Mex-Bot quickly raises his laser rifle up under his chin and pulls the trigger. The high energy bolt flies straight and true into the side of the mek’s head and it acts almost as if having a fit as it tumbles to the floor, a gaping wound in its metal skull.
As others of the shadowmeks, and now several deathmeks, turn their attention to where Mex-Bot hides, the sombrero wearer quickly dives for cover elsewhere. A barrage of shots turns the burning booth into something holier than a Spiriture Confessional.
“Ay greeengo, how long it take you to speel ALTOGETHER?” calls out Mex-Bot from his new position down behind a parts cabinet. “Almost there,” comes the reply from Cerebus who had already worked out the solution and was just inputting the last letters. When he finally presses in the ‘enter’ key, the lift doors open with a languid hiss and a female voice from the empty lift compartment declares, “Welcome. I am Express Lift 2Y67UV9 at your service. Please enter me and state your required destination level. I can offer you Maintenance Access Level 9, Sewer Ducts Iris Control Centre, Powerline Tunnel Access…”
The voice has no sense of urgency and continues to slowly reveal its various available level destinations.
Slammer and The Noose have been hit several times by the time they manage to make it over to the lift where Cerebus is already waiting, Hell Blaster in hand. He returns fire at the still advancing ranks who have now left the dissipating smoke cloud behind them.
Mex-Bot has reached the upturned metal table which Screwball is using for cover and hisses to him, “I try to bee nisse to theese bots an they waant uss ded. So leeving isa smart trick, eh?” Screwball nods and indicates towards the lift as if he will provide cover if Mex-Bot goes first. Mex-Bot indicates that he will provide cover and not wishing to argue, Screwball goes on the nod as Mex-Bot pops his head up over the table and releases a mighty energy bolt straight at the nearest Shadowmek. The mek is flung from its feet and Screwball, with an interesting ‘diving roll’, manages to make it into the lift compartment.
The attention of the enemy now seems to be wholly on the lift, the back wall of which is blackened from repeated energy hits. Cerebus and Screwball are up against the right wall whilst The Noose and Slammer are up against the left from where they all return fire out at the enemy, all except Screwball who has activated his Energy Drain chip. In the background, the lift continues to slowly run through its destinations, as if proud of the mundane places its visits.
“Surface!” declares Cerebus as Mex-Bot makes his run for the lift, bolts striking him and his hat.
“Are you sure you don’t want to try the sights of the old power conduit coupling junction,” says the lift in a friendly manner.
“Surface now!” declares Slammer, as Cerebus drags the stumbling Mex-Bot in and drops another of the shadowmeks with head removing Hell Blaster shot.
“What about th..”
“Surface NOW!” demands Slammer as sparks start to splutter from hole damage in the lift compartment back wall. “Take us to the surface now,” he growls, “or I will rip out your memory chip and stick it in a toilet bowel movement analysis device!”
The Noose’s right arm is hit by another bolt and Screwball is just feeling waves of energy flood into him from the enemy as the lift doors finally close.
The sounds of the energy fire against the lift doors fade as the lift begins to move… however those sounds are replaced by the more horrifying muzak that emanates from the concealed speakers.
Doop doop doop doooop doppity doop doozzzittzzz….
“That should do it,” says Slammer as the last of the now discovered concealed speakers is silenced by his chain sword.
The Noose meanwhile is making the journey go quicker by turning his attention to the Blitz Rifle and keeping his Scanner Chip active.
| BLITZ RIFLE;
This rifle version of the Blitz Gun is an impressive piece of weaponry
of new Excaliber design which incorporates several features previous unseen
before. The main technological advance fitted in the weapon is the high
energy compressor and processor. This means in simple terms that the Blitz
Gun can act like a normal pulse weapon and take its energy from the mek
using it. In this case however, the energy is compressed and forced out
as high energy bolts. These are slightly more powerful than those seen
from a laser rifle and without the need for an energy pack. The Blitz
Gun is claimed to be one of the most accurate and efficient energy weapons
yet developed with multi-cooling units and micro-precision barrel.
Despite the multi-cooling units the Blitz Gun had a problem with over-heating through prolonged constant use but this has been alleviated in the new rifle version. As Excaliber claim ‘The Best just got Better!’. |
